The Washington Capitals came into PNC Arena hoping to halt the Canes’ perfect postseason home record and level the Round 2. Instead, it was Carolina who extended the lead and decimated Spencer Carbery‘s boys 5-2 to maintain its winning ways. The Hurricanes are now 3-1 up in the best-of-seven-game series, and understandably, Coach Carbery is at his wits’ end.

“I have always appreciated the fact that our guys are a confident group,” the Caps’ head coach said before Game 4. And yet, by the end of the night of May 12, his optimism looked entirely misplaced. With that latest defeat, the Washington Capitals now face the threat of being eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, and the coach can’t help but get real.

In a post by the official Washington Capitals account on X from May 12, the veteran coach can be heard addressing his tanking emotions in the post-match presser. During the event, one reporter asked Spencer if Alex Ovechkin and the boys couldn’t test the Canes’ netminder, Frederik Andersen, more. In response, the coach said, “Yeah, I don’t think that’s an overriding theme, but I would agree at certain points we need to do a better job of shooting the puck when we get into some spots.”

“There have been times where I’ve thought through this series is, ‘Shoot the puck,’ in my head, which I’m sure maybe you have as well,” the Washington Capitals boss admitted that the squad needed to pull up its socks and do better. But would that have helped tonight? Andersen made 19 saves, making sure that no one other than the prolific Alex Ovechkin and Jakob Chychrun found the back of the Canes’ net.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, maintained a firm grip on things from the get-go. At 10:24 of the first period, Shayne Gostisbehere’s wrist shot from the top of the left circle brought the Washington Capitals’ foes to their lead. Seth Jarvis made it 2-0 early in the second period before Chychrun received Matt Roy’s pass and shot the puck into an open net.

Subsequent goals from Taylor Hall and Ovechkin kept things exciting with the scoreline 3-2. However, back-to-back goals from Sean Walker and Andrei Svechnikov (his seventh of the playoffs) ended the Washington Capitals’ rally and brought an end to the thriller. Pulling Logan Thompson from the net evidently wasn’t the wisest move by the Washington camp, we’d agree. With today’s emphatic win, goalie Andersen extended his playoff record to a 1.41 goals-against average and a save percentage of .935.

But where does all this leave the Caps?

What lies ahead for the Washington Capitals?

Coach Carbery’s squad was the first team to qualify for the playoffs back in March. And yet, in the final days of the regular season, the Caps suffered a number of horrific losses, most notably the 7-0 defeat to the Blue Jackets. And still, despite the wobbly finish to the season, Washington clinched the top seed in the division as well as in the conference. The only redeeming factor was Alex Ovechkin becoming the NHL’s all-time leading goalscorer in early April.

However, despite the losses in the final stretches before the postseason, the Caps looked like their usual self in the playoffs. Defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in the first round of the Eastern Conference, Washington looked determined to give its captain’s seminal feat the applause it deserved by winning their second Stanley Cup.

And yet, when they stepped into the rink with the Canes, things looked entirely different. Taking a 2-1 battering despite having an early lead, the Washington Capitals infuriated the fans, and some veterans of the sport even began discounting the team from Stanley Cup contention altogether. Moreover, after another loss in Game 3, the coach even admitted that the team didn’t have the necessary firepower to turn things around after falling behind, while forward Tom Wilson confessed that it would be a hard battle against the Canes despite the victory in Game 2.

Game 5 will see Carolina hitting the road as the action resumes at the Capital One Arena on May 15. Do you think the Caps can finally bring an end to their woes? Or will their losing streak continue and end all hopes winning the ultimate hockey prize? Tell us your thoughts below.