When the Washington Capitals are tossing and turning at night wondering what went wrong this May, they'll go back to one date: Friday, May 21.
That was the date of Game 4 of the Caps' series against the Boston Bruins. After Games 1-3 required overtime, Washington delivered a listless effort in Game 4, falling 4-1 to get pushed to the brink of elimination. The Bruins shoved the Caps over that brink Sunday with a 3-1 win in Game 5.
Despite the two-goal loss, Washington looked significantly better in Game 5. Moments after walking off the ice, Washington head coach Peter Laviolette admitted that Game 4 might've been what ultimately sank his team.
"The first three games were tight games that could've went either way," Laviolette said over Zoom after the Game 5 loss. "In hindsight, we were not going to like the way we played the fourth game. (In Game 5), our guys tried, they competed. We worked the play tight defensively, we worked to create and the effort was there. Game 4 was one I think we'll look back on and be disappointed about, but the first three games were flip of the coin and tonight we couldn't get it done."
Now, the Capitals face some uncertainty in their future, as franchise icon Alex Ovechkin is entering the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.
