Takeaways: Capitals' Power-Play Woes, Rough First & Third Lead To Loss To Penguins

WASHINGTON — A rivalry game with excitement in the air turned into a game to forget for the Washington Capitals, as a rough start set the stage for a disappointing end.

The Capitals were able to find life in the second, but sloppy first and third periods resulted in a 4-2 loss.

Here are all the takeaways from the loss.

Capitals Power Play Struggles, Ovechkin & More Can't Solve Blomqvist

Washington's power-play woes have been evident since the third game of the season, and they continued on Friday.

The Capitals went 0-for-3 against Pittsburgh, failing to convert at critical moments in the first and third periods when they were trailing. Washington is now 2-for-40 since Oct. 17, and though the power play didn't necessarily look terrible, it just couldn't finish.

What also stopped Washington in its tracks was the hot play of rookie Joel Blomqvist, who stopped 32 of 34 shots, including all five from captain Alex Ovechkin, whose five-game scoring streak came to an end.

Lindgren Has Strong Showing, But Sloppy Effort Leads To Loss

Though the game started off shaky for Charlie Lindgren, things got better as the game went on, and he put up a strong showing with some key stops for Washington.

Lindgren was put to work, as D.C. gave up over 30 shots for the fourth consecutive game. Still, despite some strong saves from him — including a huge one-second period when he sprawled out and just got his toe on a shot from Rickard Rakell to keep things tied — it wasn't enough as a sloppy defensive effort led to a loss.

He stopped 28 of 31 shots in the defeat.

The Capitals fumbled in front of Lindgren, and some miscues and missed assignments proved costly. The team also got outplayed in the third, where Evgeni Malkin scored the game-winning goal by easily getting to the front while Noel Acciari iced the game with an empty-netter.

McMichael & Vrana Stay Hot, Sandin Keeps Up Strong Play

Washington did get goals from Rasmus Sandin and Andrew Mangiapane, and all the while, Connor McMichael and Jakub Vrana, returning from two games a sa healthy scratch, extended their hot streaks.

Rasmus Sandin opened the scoring and got D.C. on the board to give them some life in a lackluster first, firing a high shot past Joel Blomqvist to pull his team within one. Connor McMichael got the assist and now has points in five of his last six outings as he stays hot to open the season.

Sandin has looked strong over these last few games, and Matt Roy continues to complement him well on that second pairing.

Meanwhile, with Sonny Milano suffering an upper-body injury, Vrana got to draw back into the lineup after two games as a healthy scratch, and he made the most of his opportunity.

The 28-year-old was using his speed to his advantage, and ultimately, extended his point streak to three games by breaking out the puck on a 2-on-1 and making a picture-perfect pass to Mangiapane to even the score in the second.