WASHINGTON, DC — After struggling on the power play for much of the season, the Capitals seemed to take a positive step earlier this week, potting a pair of goals on the man advantage against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Despite that success, however, head coach Spencer Carbery wasn’t convinced by what he saw in that game.

“I will be honest with you, (the power play) wasn’t great the other night,” Carbery said Saturday morning. “And I know we get two, so you’re like, ‘Everything is fixed.’ So that’s just the facts. When you watch the film, the four-on-three was not good. Had a full almost two minutes, and I’m not sure we registered a shot. So it continues to be a work in progress.”

Carbery’s words proved prophetic when his team faced the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Washington earned a season-high six power-play opportunities in the game, but failed to convert on any of them. The only goal scored on a Capitals power play, in fact, came from the Lightning.

Washington’s power play problems aren’t new. They arguably didn’t even start this year, with the team going through weeks-long droughts in each of the last two seasons. But once again, the power play cost the 2025-26 Capitals a game they otherwise should have won.

“We’re not making plays,” Tom Wilson said. “We’re not making simple plays. We’re not moving. It’s a little bit too predictable, probably. At the end of the day, it comes down to us, all 10 guys. You’ve just got to make better plays.

“When you have the puck, you’ve got to get it to the next guy’s tape. Can’t pass on the problem. And all of us seem to just kind of be throwing it around right now. Just got to play with a little more confidence and find a way to put them in the back of the net. I mean, it’s costing us games. So it’s not good enough, obviously.”

The power play’s low point came on Hagel’s goal early in the first period. After JJ Moser took the first penalty of the night, the Washington was in the offensive zone for just seconds before Erik Cernak lobbed the puck out to Anthony Cirelli at center ice. Cirelli deftly avoided Jakob Chychrun before passing to Hagel, who scored through two Caps defenders in front of him.

Hagel scored just 15 seconds into Moser’s penalty. The Capitals never touched the puck on the play, and they would not hold the lead for the remainder of the night.

“Yeah, it’s not good enough,” Wilson said of the shorthanded goal sequence. “At this level, it just can’t happen. It might cost us the game on a night like tonight. So it was a bit of a weird one, but at the end of the day, it can’t happen. So every guy on the ice has to just be a little bit better.”

While the Caps certainly weren’t off to a good start, Carbery noted that early play wasn’t enough to doom the game. Instead, he pointed to the team’s continuing missteps as the night continued.

“I don’t think (the shorthanded goal was) the end of the world,” he said. “I mean, do you lose momentum? For sure you do. Is it a lapse in judgment of those five guys? We get a little bit casual, and now all of a sudden Hagel’s stepping into an opportunity, but we’re still in a fine spot. But then as it progressively went — you guys saw how it went. And that’s not even close to good enough from what we need from our power play.”

Hagel’s goal stands out as the most obvious error, but the Capitals’ failure to convert on a five-on-three in the third period was almost as big of a missed opportunity. After a tripping penalty from Anthony Cirelli, a slashing call on Emil Lilleberg gave the Caps more than a full minute on a two-man advantage.

The moment could have proven a turning point for the Capitals, who were then only down by one. But despite several good chances, Washington couldn’t beat Jonas Johansson, and Jakob Chychrun took an interference call to negate what would have been close to a minute of play at five-on-four.

Washington now ranks sixth-worst in the league with a power play percentage of just 14.7%, an 8.8% decrease from 2024-25. Carbery has thus far been resistant to taking players off the power play, even as he’s looked to make other adjustments to try and break the team’s slump. He defended the decision earlier this month, though he noted that he was nearing the end of his rope.

“Is my patience wearing thin? Yes,” he said then. “But we are going to see if it works and hope that they can get this thing on track.”

The team’s performance against Tampa may have been the final straw. Asked after Saturday’s loss if he still felt the same way about his power-play personnel, the normally-talkative coach had a simple answer.

“We’ll see tomorrow.”