The Washington Capitals came out with a strong start against the Dallas Stars and need to continue building early momentum despite the rough final score Tuesday.
Washington fell to Dallas, 6-5, but early bounces went in every opposite direction from the Capitals and led to an four-goal advantage for the Stars.
The Capitals controlled much of the opening minutes, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and putting pressure on Jake Oettinger. Washington recorded 10 shot attempts before Dallas scored its first goal, but only three reached the net. Five were blocked and two missed the mark.
"I thought our start was exactly how we scripted it and exactly how we wanted to come out," Washington head coach Spencer Carbery said. "We knew it was going to be important, and we did exactly what we wanted to do."
Dallas scored on its first shot on goal, with Joel Kiviranta putting the Stars ahead at 8:56 of the first period. Washington still finished the opening 20 minutes with a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal.
The game quickly got away from the Capitals in the second period. Jason Robertson scored three times in a span of 5:20, giving Dallas a 4-0 lead and forcing Washington to make a change in ...