A ONE-point night -- Game 49: Lightning 4 - Capitals 3 (OT)

They got a point. It could have been worse. But losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning was just “Groundhog Day” a couple of days early. The same things we have seen from the Caps over who knows how long played on the loop once more…

-- Twenty seven shots on goal in regulation (29 for the game). That makes 20 straight games without topping 30 shots.

-- Eleven shots came from the duo of Brooks Laich (six) and Troy Brouwer (five). Eighteen shots from 16 other skaters. Someone named J.T. Wyman had more shots for Tampa Bay (three) than any of the other Capitals’ skaters.

-- At least they were not badly out-attempted (54-51, Tampa Bay). But 51 attempts in a game that went more than 60 minutes is not exactly evidence of much offensive pressure.

-- John Carlson was a minus-4. That is a career worst. He is now minus-10 in his last 14 games.

-- The much ballyhooed premiere of “The Joel Rechlicz Show” closed after two shifts in the first period.

We don’t have much of a problem with the likes of Dennis Wideman (plus-2, three shots on goal, more than 28 minutes), Brooks Laich (six shots, an assist, three hits), Troy Brouwer (five shots, a goal, almost 23 minutes of ice time), Karl Alzner (plus-3, three hits, two takeaways, two blocked shots), Matt Hendricks (a pretty goal after a whiff and seven hits in 16 minutes of ice time), or Mathieu Perreault (his fifth goal in five games). But the rest? The Caps were not facing the 1978 Canadiens. They were playing a team that despite a four game winning streak is not that good. They should consider themselves fortunate to get the point against a weak team with bad goaltending.

It needs to get better than this.