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It\u2019s been a rough time for the Washington Capitals. Since starting the 2025-26 season 6-2-0, the team has gone an abysmal 2-6-2 since. The Capitals are now 8-8-2, sitting in last place of the Metropolitan Division. However, they have shown some potential, especially in their lone two wins over the last few weeks. For now though, let\u2019s take a look at what\u2019s gone wrong for the Capitals.<\/p>\n
The Capitals\u2019 current slump began with a 7-1 blowout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 25. Since then, the team has only been able to win two of their last 10 games. They had been in nine of those games, with several of them being tied heading into the third period.<\/p>\n
The Capitals are lucky to have two wins over the course of this slump. One was a 6-1 blowout home win over the lowly St. Louis Blues, and the other was a stunning 4-1 victory over the rival Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest issues for the Capitals during this slump has been the special teams. The once-dominant power play hasn\u2019t worked most of the time, and the same can be said for the penalty kill.<\/p>\n
The Capitals haven\u2019t been able to get moving on the man advantage, as they\u2019ve only gone 2-for-28 during the slump. The team\u2019s power play is currently third-worst in the NHL and just went 1-for-11 on the recent four-game road trip.<\/p>\n
The penalty kill has also been abysmal and currently sits at fifth-worst in the league. Since the slump began on Oct. 25, the Capitals have given up 11 goals with a man down over the course of 10 games.<\/p>\n
Another issue for the Capitals has been injuries to key players. The team just lost Pierre-Luc Dubois for a majority of the season due to a lower-body injury. Dubois missed a few games before returning on Oct. 31, only to suffer a more serious injury in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders.<\/p>\n
Since then, head coach Spencer Carbery has had to make multiple adjustments to the forward lines. Dubois usually started at the second-line center position.<\/p>\n
In response, Carbery replaced Dubois with Connor McMichael at the 2C, skating alongside wingers Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. The second line didn\u2019t exactly hit the same as McMichael was swapped for Justin Sourdif at the position.<\/p>\n
Alex Ovechkin has done wonders for the Capitals franchise over the years. However, age catches up eventually.<\/p>\n
Ovechkin, 40, had an incredible season last year that led to him surpassing Wayne Gretzky for the most career goals in NHL history. He even had a dominant start to the year with 15 goals through 18 games before missing action with a leg injury.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Ovechkin only has five goals through the first 18 games of this season. He doesn\u2019t exactly have the same spark that he once had, especially on the power play. People have questioned whether he should remain on the top power-play unit going forward.<\/p>\n
However, this could be similar to his start to the 2023-24 NHL season. That year, Ovechkin was on pace for a 16-goal season until he bounced back after the All-Star break by recording 22 goals in his final 35 games.<\/p>\n
The good news is that it\u2019s early in the season and there\u2019s still time to improve. The Capitals still have talented players like Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome, Ryan Leonard, and Logan Thompson.<\/p>\n
Carbery is coming off winning the Jack Adams Award last season, while Thompson is looking to be a Vezina Trophy candidate.<\/p>\n
Getty<\/p>\n
Sean McDermott kept it real when discussing Keon Coleman’s future with the Bills after his latest benching<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0got back in the win column in Week 11, as they picked up a 44-32 victory over the\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the Bills eventually pulled away late, there was some drama along the way, as they trailed for a decent portion of this game. There was also some drama before the game involving\u00a0wide receiver Keon Coleman.<\/p>\n
The talented second-year pass catcher was a healthy scratch for this game after he was late to a team meeting during the week, marking the third time he has been disciplined by the team in his young career. Ahead of Week 12,\u00a0head coach Sean McDermott\u00a0addressed Coleman\u2019s future with the team, as he continues to struggle to stay out of trouble.<\/p>\n
The Bills selected Coleman with the first pick of the second round in the 2024\u00a0NFL\u00a0Draft, and he put together a solid rookie campaign, catching 29 passes for 556 yards and four touchdowns. With Buffalo needing a true No. 1 pass catcher to step up for Josh Allen, the team had high hopes for Coleman entering this season.<\/p>\n
Instead, Coleman\u2019s season has been marred by disciplinary issues. Earlier this year, Coleman was benched for the first series of the team\u2019s Week 5 loss to the\u00a0New England Patriots. Last season, Coleman was benched for the first quarter of the team\u2019s clash with the\u00a0Jacksonville Jaguars, so this isn\u2019t exactly the first time he has found himself in this situation.<\/p>\n
When he\u2019s been on the field, Coleman hasn\u2019t taken a step forward either, as he has 32 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns this season. It\u2019s clear that something needs to change in this partnership, because the current setup is not working. On Monday, McDermott kept it real when discussing how the team will move forward with Coleman after his\u00a0latest disciplinary incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are different paths or journeys,\u201d McDermott said when discussing Coleman\u2019s latest benching. \u201cDo we want it to have happened before now? Yes. He would tell you the same thing. The important piece is that he learns from this and he grows from this. You grow from it, we can move forward. If you don\u2019t grow from it, it\u2019s hard to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
GettyKeon Coleman #0 of the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n
The Bills are at a fork in the road with Coleman. While his upside is clear as day, he hasn\u2019t come close to reaching his potential, both on and off the field. It\u2019s still early, but at some point, things need to change for him. If he continues to violate the team\u2019s rules, there could come a point in time when the front office decides to move on from him.<\/p>\n
For the time being, though, McDermott and the rest of the team are committed to helping Coleman become the best version of himself. That will start with getting back on the field in Week 12, as the team has a short week upcoming. Buffalo will square off against the\u00a0Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football, with kickoff being scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s been a rough time for the Washington Capitals. Since starting the 2025-26 season 6-2-0, the team has gone an abysmal 2-6-2 since. The Capitals are now 8-8-2, sitting in last place…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t