Takeaways: Ovechkin-less Capitals Lack Spark In Loss To Avalanche

WASHINGTON — Thursday's game against the Colorado Avalanche was a tall order for the Washington Capitals; not only were they tasked with shutting down Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, but they had to do so without Alex Ovechkin, who is out the next 4-6 weeks with a broken leg.

And though they got flashes of strong play, it wasn't enough. PIerre-Luc Dubois got on the board, but it wasn't enough in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche

Here are all the takeaways from the defeat:

Dubois Steps Up, But Offense Struggles Without Ovechkin

Head coach Spencer Carbery said pregame that he wanted to see the same energy and urgency from everyone with Ovechkin on the shelf for the next few weeks, and Pierre-Luc Dubois answered the call as best as he could.

The 26-year-old played his best game with D.C. yet and was a force to be reckoned with at both ends of the ice, winning draws, moving his feet, carrying the puck with confidence and ultimately, finding the back of the net.

Dubois opened the scoring for Washington, tapping in a nice feed from Tom Wilson for his first goal in 12 games and his first on a goaltender this season. He also led the Capitals with three shots.

Though he hasn't always been rewarded on the scoresheet this season, Dubois' play has been impressive, and now, he's heating up points-wise. He has points in five of his last six games, producing at a point-per-game pace over that span.

While Dubois got on the board, Washington's offfense struggled to solve Alexandar Georgiev. Andrew Mangiapane, who was filling in on the top line, also went to work with Tom Wilson, as Carbery experiemnted with different looks.

Thompson Shines Despite Loss

Despite the defeat, Washington got another solid showing from Logan Thompson.

The 27-year-old stopped 24 of 26 shots, including sparking ten-bell saves on Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon at different points in the game.

Ultimately, the goals that beat Thompson came off an unfortunate bounce and a deflection.

Still, the team did a good job of silencing MacKinnon, who was held off the scorsheeet for the second time in three games, both of those occasions coming at the hands of D.C.