WASHING CAPITALS WORKING OUT THE KINKS

The Detroit Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom scored a power-play goal with just under 7 minutes left to play, handing his team a 3-2 victory over the talented, blue-blooded Washington Capitals on Saturday night. The goal was scored after a hooking penalty on Caps' Mike Green.

"If we don't address our penalties it's difficult because it ruins the whole flow of our game," said Caps defenseman Brian Pothier.

Going into that game, the Capitals had followed their initial two victories with two losses in a row, and they had been leading in both with about 10 minutes to go in the third perid.

The team that has had its collective eye on and is more than hungry for a Stanley Cup win has been plagued by penalties and the kind of little mistakes that can haunt.

"You can't be doing that. You can't be giving up third-period leads,' said defenseman Tom Toti to USA Today. "You've got to hold onto it, somehow, some way. We have to tighten up as a team and play team defense. Can't be looking for that extra goal."

"I've never been around a group that cared so much about winning and how every loss affects them," coach Bruce Boudreau has said of his team. "It's just that we're making mistakes that teams make, and we want to correct it in Game 4 rather than Game 44."

And while the Caps are loaded with dream-team talent, avoiding penalties and avoiding little mistakes can be critical for getting to hoist the Stanley Cup.

In discussing penalties after the loss to Detroit, Boudreau opined, "If we hadn't taken penalties in this game or in other games, we could easily be 5-0. Instead, we're .500. It's back to the drawing board." Sphere: Related Content