The Capitals had a tough task after traveling for the second game of a back-to-back set.
Playing back-to-back games is always tough, especially when there’s travel involved. That’s the situation the Capitals faced Tuesday. After defeating Carolina at home Monday, Washington had to travel to Ottawa to take on a tough Senators team. The Caps struggled the majority of the game and were shut out 3-0.
Ottawa wasted no time in scoring on the Caps, as Chris Kelly scored a shorthanded goal less than two minutes into the game. Bobby Ryan struck about three minutes later to extend the lead.
Washington tried to mount a comeback in the second half, but that task got even tougher when Evgeny Kuznetsov took a high-sticking penalty. Ottawa scored on the resulting power play when Zack Smith beat Philipp Grubauer.
Top goalie Braden Holtby was between the pipes Monday night, so Grubauer was given the nod against Ottawa Tuesday. He was peppered with 34 shots and stopped 31 of them. He had won seven of the last eight games he appeared in prior to the game with the Senators.
Washington entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the NHL and had been putting up some big numbers on offense. The Capitals had scored at least four goals in each of the lat eight games.
Tuesday marked just the third time the Capitals were shut out so far this season. The last was a 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders on December 1.
The Capitals wrap u the first half of the season Thursday in New Jersey before taking a few days off for the All-Star break.
More from Stars and Sticks
This article originally appeared on 
