So. Last night could have gone better.
Amazingly, it also could have been much, much worse, and would have been if the Caps had played in the first period the way they did in the final forty minutes. Despite being down 2-0 a little over halfway through that opening period, the Caps held the advantage in shots and shot attempts, scoring chances, and expected goals.
And then…well, then the second period started.
The biggest issue last night wasn’t even just the ability, or lack thereof, to generate offense consistently (although that certainly became an issue as the game went on, score effects be damned).