Caps nearly pull off comeback, fall to Blues in shootout originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Capitals were five minutes away from picking up their third straight regulation loss when they rallied to score two goals and force overtime against the St. Louis Blues before losing in a six-round shootout.

St. Louis entered the game near the bottom of the Central Division standings but had enjoyed some strong play of late riding a four-game winning streak. The Blues stayed hot, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.

The Capitals would storm back, however, behind two goals from defenseman John Carlson, who was playing in his 900th career NHL game. Alex Ovechkin and Conor Sheary chipped in with regulation goals as well. Washington ultimately could not complete the comeback as winger Pavel Buchnevich scored the game-winner to end the shootout.

Here are three takeaways from the Capitals’ 5-4 loss to the Blues.

Caps come out of gate slow

For the 12th time in 19 games to begin the season, the Capitals went scoreless in the first period. The opening frame has proved to be a difficult one for Washington with the team being outscored 16-9 in the first 20 minutes of games.

That total includes the 3-0 deficit they faced after the first period Thursday. Head coach Peter Laviolette called a rare early timeout to voice his frustrations with the Capitals’ performance when it was 2-0, but his words didn’t translate into any sudden momentum.

Turnovers and defensive breakdowns gave the Blues several opportunities to beat Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren off the rush and they capitalized.

Lindgren wasn’t free from fault, either. Facing his former team, the Capitals’ netminder allowed the Blues to convert a power-play opportunity with a shot by defenseman Torey Krug at the point that beat him short side.

Ovechkin, Carlson give Caps life

Washington maintained a slight 9-7 lead in shots on goal after the first period and pushed the tempo further in the second. The Capitals dominated time of possession and outshot the Blues 18-9 in the period, but it looked like their ongoing struggles to finish plays might continue when the clock showed five minutes left without a goal for the road team.

Ovechkin finally broke through, receiving a pass from center Dylan Strome with a whole lot of real estate right in front of Blues goaltender Thomas Greiss.

Less than two and a half minutes later, Carlson made up for some early miscues by scoring on a short-handed breakaway to make it 3-2.

While the momentum would be short-lived with Blues center Ryan O’Reilly scoring on the ensuing possession, Carlson scored another late in the third period on a power play to pull the Capitals back to within one.

Greiss sends Blues home happy

After a bit of a shaky first period, Greiss settled in and held the Capitals at bay to earn his first win in a Blues uniform. The 14-year NHL veteran began the day with an 0-3 record in four appearances, struggling mightily in the backup role behind Jordan Binnington.

But with Binnington out of commission having started the day before, Greiss got the call Thursday to face a struggling Capitals offense. Washington did score a pair of goals late in the second period, but he kept them ahead with several highlight-reel plays.

That is, until the final few minutes when Carlson and Sheary helped the Capitals put together an improbable comeback.

Greiss made up for it after regulation, holding off a fierce Capitals barrage of shots that pushed their total up to 51 on the night. Greiss then stood tall in the shootout, allowing one goal to center Evgeny Kuznetsov but blocking the next five he saw to earn a win with his sixth different NHL franchise.

Lindgren, one of the players Greiss replaced, dropped to 2-2-1 in his first season with Washington.

After dropping games to the Blues, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Capitals will look to snap their three-game losing streak Saturday with a home game against the Colorado Avalanche.