Carbery, Capitals Don't Hold Back After Blowing 2-Goal Lead & Falling To Maple Leafs In OT: 'Just Embarrassing... Wasn't Our Brand Of Hockey'
WASHINGTON — Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery didn't mince words after watching his team fall 4-3 in overtime on home ice to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Instead, he was brutally honest, even admitting that the Capitals didn't look like themselves after the first half of the game.
"Not good at all. Embarrassing for that matter," Carbery said. "The way that that game played out, just embarrassing. Flat out unrecognizable from our team."
Washington was leading 3-1 going into the third, where Toronto turned the tide and took over the game. The Maple Leafs were in the defensive zone for the majority of the frame, and despite having two goals called back by the officials, still managed to tie the game at three with goals from William Nylander and Mitch Marner in the third.
"Just sat back, didn't get pucks in. Wasn't our brand of hockey in the third, that's for sure," Dylan Strome, who scored in the loss, said. "Obviously feeling pretty good up 3-1.,.. when you're in your own zone the whole period, they're going to make you pay."
Related: Takeaways: Capitals Let Maple Leafs Back In Game, Fall In Overtime
Toronto would continue to dominate the start of overtime, and after the Capitals got a couple of looks, an Alex Ovechkin shot ricocheted off Joseph Woll and down the ice, where John Tavares broke away and scored the eventual winner.
"I think we don't make the plays we usually make when we play our game. Third period was just unacceptable," Aliaksei Protas said. "Unacceptable plays we usually don't make, and it started to fall apart. We had the chances to close this game out, and we didn't. For sure, it's on us."
For Rasmus Sandin and the Capitals, they are eager to turn the page quickly, and it starts with breaking down what exactly went wrong and getting to the bottom of it.
""We need to manage the puck better, but why we didn't manage the puck better? I think that's something we need to figure out," Sandin said. "Just move on and prepare yourself for the road trip coming up."