Capitals lose out to Blues 5-2 in major setback for playoff spot

St. Louis Blues came out with a 5-2 win over Washington Capitals in one of their last chances of reaching the playoff on Friday night.

blues win, no cap(s). #stlblues pic.twitter.com/tAAnHeXQSM

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 18, 2023

The Capitals wasted a great opportunity to gain ground for the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference against an opponent, who has been a long way away and has suffered a poor run of form. As things stand, Washington is 5 points off Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islander with 12 games left to play.

“We have no wiggle room,” frustrated winger Conor Sheary said.

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“The fact that we weren’t able to come out and be ready for this one and try to move up the standings is unfortunate. So, at this point, we got to get rolling, and if we don’t it’s going to end quickly for us.”

Martin Fahervary and Nicklas Backstrom both scored in the third period, as did an impressive Hofer. The youngster made only his 3 NHL start in place of Jordan Binnington, who got suspended for throwing a punch in the last game.

“It was fun. I had a blast out there,” delighted  Hofer said.

“There’s obviously a lot of uncertainties with being in the (American Hockey League) all year and the first game in a long time, but I thought the guys played really well in front of me and kind of kept them to the outside. It’s super Nice to get the win.”

Blais and Kasperi Kapanen finished off Washington miserable night with one goal each to make it 5 in total for the Blues.

Next on the road for St. Luis is a home game against the Jets on Sunday night. The Capitals visit Minnesota on Sunday afternoon.