3 least impressive Washington Capitals players from 5-2 Game 4 loss to Carolina Hurricanes feat. Logan Thompson

The Washington Capitals dropped Game 4 of their second-round series with the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2, to fall into a 3-1 hole on Monday.

The loss at PNC Arena marked back-to-back road defeats for the Capitals after splitting the first two games at home.

Jakob Chychurn and Alex Ovechkin got the goals for the Capitals. Meanwhile, Shayne Gostisbehere, Seth Jarvis, Taylor Hall, Sean Walker and Andrei Svechnikov got the tallies for the Hurricanes.

So, let’s take a closer look at the three least impressive Washington Capitals players from their Game 4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

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Three least impressive Washington Capitals players from Game 4 loss to Carolina Hurricanes

#3 Alexander Alexeyev

Alexander Alexeyev has essentially become an afterthought on the Washington Capitals’ blue line. He played for just 5:48 across eight shifts.

At this point, the Capitals are essentially playing with five defensemen, making Alexeyev expandable. Perhaps it’s time that the Capitals experimented with Dylan McIlrath instead of giving Alexeyev just five minutes a night.

#2 Nic Dowd

Nic Dowd continues to be a liability on the ice for the Washington Capitals. In Game 4, Dowd, along with his fourth-line teammates were burned twice, leading to Carolina goals.

The Canes used their speed to blow past the Dowd and Brandon Duhaime. Here’s a look at a good example:

Shayne Gostisbehere undressed Duhaime and put a shot on net where Dowd was unable to clear the front of the net. The shot got through, fooling Capitals’ netminder Logan Thompson.

The Capitals need to get more reliable defensive play from their fourth line, as getting burned like that has been the difference between getting back in the game and falling behind in the series.

#1 Logan Thompson

The Capitals’ starting netminder Logan Thompson had a tough night against the Hurricanes. While he can’t be blamed for every goal, like Gostisbehere’s opening tally, there were two goals Thompson would have liked to get back.

Here’s a look:

Sebastian Aho’s shot fooled Thompson, leaving him unable to make the save. While Thompson got a piece of the shot, he didn’t react in time to prevent Seth Jarvis from popping the puck home.

Here’s another:

Hall completely fooled Thompson by firing the puck to his blocker side. Thompson’s initial move was to his glove side, but as he took the bait, Hall pulled the puck back and fired a missile to the top corner.

Both goals were ones Thompson could have stopped, but the Canes did a great job of making the most of their opportunities.

The Washington Capitals head home for Game 5 with their backs to the wall, hoping to force a Game 6 back in Carolina.