from Alex Prewitt of Capitals Insider,

“I mean, words are always just words,” goaltender Braden Holtby said. “The biggest thing is, we’re at the point now where there’s [14] games left and that’s where you have to start playing playoff hockey. I think we just have to push through, realize it’s a playoff mentality now and desperation is one word, but I think you just have to ramp up your mental capabilities and be prepared for everything.”

They certainly seemed unprepared Friday, falling behind early after taking a first-period minor for too many men on the ice that led to Shawn Horcroff’s wacky goal, which ricocheted off forward Curtis Glencross’ skate and over Holtby’s shoulder. They only managed 20 shots on goal against Kari Lehtonen, tied for their second-fewest total this season, and only seven once backup Justin Peters replaced Holtby.

“It has to happen from within the room,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “The group has to solve it. They have to solve it in terms of … and I’m part of it. We all have to solve it. It really comes from the guys in the room. Let’s get going here. We need some urgency in our room. You look at some of our starts, you look at some of our, the last couple games, first two periods against teams that played the night before, I thought we were beaten in the first two periods in a lot of areas.

“Getting beat to puck races, we’d get a forecheck or a loose puck and there’s no one around, there’s not quick enough support. To me, those are indicators of urgency, of effort, of detail, all that. We’ve been harping on it for a couple weeks of being a little better in some areas, building our game. We haven’t got there yet and today was an indication we’re not there yet.”

more