It’s been a rough time for the Washington Capitals. Since starting the 2025-26 season 6-2-0, the team has gone an abysmal 2-6-2 since. The Capitals are now 8-8-2, sitting in last place of the Metropolitan Division. However, they have shown some potential, especially in their lone two wins over the last few weeks. For now though, let’s take a look at what’s gone wrong for the Capitals.
Capitals Remain in a Slump
The Capitals’ current slump began with a 7-1 blowout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 25. Since then, the team has only been able to win two of their last 10 games. They had been in nine of those games, with several of them being tied heading into the third period.
The Capitals are lucky to have two wins over the course of this slump. One was a 6-1 blowout home win over the lowly St. Louis Blues, and the other was a stunning 4-1 victory over the rival Carolina Hurricanes.
Special Teams Issues
One of the biggest issues for the Capitals during this slump has been the special teams. The once-dominant power play hasn’t worked most of the time, and the same can be said for the penalty kill.
The Capitals haven’t been able to get moving on the man advantage, as they’ve only gone 2-for-28 during the slump. The team’s power play is currently third-worst in the NHL and just went 1-for-11 on the recent four-game road trip.
The penalty kill has also been abysmal and currently sits at fifth-worst in the league. Since the slump began on Oct. 25, the Capitals have given up 11 goals with a man down over the course of 10 games.
Key Injuries Have Been Crucial
Another issue for the Capitals has been injuries to key players. The team just lost Pierre-Luc Dubois for a majority of the season due to a lower-body injury. Dubois missed a few games before returning on Oct. 31, only to suffer a more serious injury in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders.
Since then, head coach Spencer Carbery has had to make multiple adjustments to the forward lines. Dubois usually started at the second-line center position.
In response, Carbery replaced Dubois with Connor McMichael at the 2C, skating alongside wingers Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. The second line didn’t exactly hit the same as McMichael was swapped for Justin Sourdif at the position.
Alex Ovechkin’s Slow Start
Alex Ovechkin has done wonders for the Capitals franchise over the years. However, age catches up eventually.
Ovechkin, 40, had an incredible season last year that led to him surpassing Wayne Gretzky for the most career goals in NHL history. He even had a dominant start to the year with 15 goals through 18 games before missing action with a leg injury.
Unfortunately, Ovechkin only has five goals through the first 18 games of this season. He doesn’t exactly have the same spark that he once had, especially on the power play. People have questioned whether he should remain on the top power-play unit going forward.
However, this could be similar to his start to the 2023-24 NHL season. That year, Ovechkin was on pace for a 16-goal season until he bounced back after the All-Star break by recording 22 goals in his final 35 games.
Any Room for Improvement?
The good news is that it’s early in the season and there’s still time to improve. The Capitals still have talented players like Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome, Ryan Leonard, and Logan Thompson.
Carbery is coming off winning the Jack Adams Award last season, while Thompson is looking to be a Vezina Trophy candidate.
