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HC Spencer Carberry makes his frustrations known after Washington Capitals squander 2-0 lead in loss to 31st placed Blackhawks

Modified Dec 18, 2024 06:23 GMT

Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carberry did not mince words when expressing his frustrations after his team squandered a 2-0 lead en route to a 3-2 loss against the 31st-place Chicago Blackhawks.

The Capitals are in third place with 44 points, while the Blackhawks sit at the bottom of the standings. The upset loss dropped the Capitals' record to 21-8-2 on the season and marked their second straight road defeat.

The Capitals got off to a strong start, scoring two goals in the first period courtesy of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane. However, the Blackhawks stormed back in the third period, with Ilya Mikheyev netting a shorthanded goal to open the scoring before T.J. Brodie and Ryan Donato added goals to complete the comeback.

When asked about the penalty trouble in the second period that seemed to shift momentum in Chicago's favor, Carberry pinpointed it as one of many issues on the night.

"You could point to a ton of different things. That (penalty trouble) certainly was one of them, or where we lose momentum and then a couple mental mistakes ... when you go back through that film, it'll be 50 different things that are not good."

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Carberry was equally blunt when asked why the team dropped two straight road games, saying:

“I mean, the excuse that I'm sure that will be dropped is the travel and that, but (we) should still be able to get through that. We just, for whatever reason, didn't have it.”

Arvid Soderblom made 19 saves for the Blackhawks, while Logan Thompson had 20 for the Capitals in the losing effort.

Washington Capitals' Andrew Mangiapane's comments on 3-2 loss to Blackhawks

Andrew Mangiapane netted a goal in the first period, extending the Washington Capitals’ lead to 2-0. He maneuvered past defenseman T.J. Brodie and executed a forehand shot while gliding in front of the net.

On scoring a goal after six games, Mangiapane said:

"I didn't think I had too much space there, so I just wanted to kind of take it to the net and I was able to get, you know, the middle ice there and be able to put that it," he said postgame (per NHL.com).

On the loss, Mangiapane said:

“It's tough one to lose here … we just didn't feel like have out legs, kind of just slow everywhere on the ice"

Next, the Washington Capitals will face the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.