Jay Beagle

Capitals' Trotz on loss to Hurricanes: 'We had a couple passengers'

Published Jan. 1, 2016 12:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz wasn't too pleased to see his team's nine-game winning streak come to an end.

Yes, the law of averages suggests that the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals (28-7-2) had to lose at some point, but Trotz took issue with the effort of some of the members of his team during Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Via the Washington Post:

"We had a couple passengers today, which is rare. Maybe emotionally (Wednesday) night with all of the changes and guys getting out of the game, maybe that had an effect. I don't know."

Trotz, who did not divulge the names of the "passengers," is referencing the Capitals' 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. During that contest, Nicklas Backstrom suffered an upper-body injury and fellow forward Jay Beagle did the same, with Trotz noting that the latter would be sidelined for an extended period of time.

Backstrom returned to score in Thursday's tilt for Washington, which concluded its seventh set of back-to-back contests.

The Capitals will try to return to their winning ways on Saturday as they continue their five-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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