Washington Capitals’ evolution under Coach Adam Oates is a slow one

TORONTO — Six games into the lockout-shortened NHL schedule, it’s clear that the Washington Capitals’ evolution under new Coach Adam Oates won’t take place instantly.

The 1-4-1 Capitals arrived here ahead of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday ranked 14th in the Eastern Conference. They showed signs of cohesion against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, but not even their best performance to date translated into a victory as they gave up a two-goal lead and lost, 3-2.

It was a defeat that left players grappling with conflicting emotions. On one hand, they want to emphasize what they did so well for 38 minutes – force turnovers, dominate puck possession and use a perpetual forecheck to spend shift after shift in the offensive zone. On the other, they want to focus on how to prevent similar outcomes in the future – put another team away with an extra goal, not allow a late momentum-boosting tally and avoid scrambling when an opponent pushes back.

“You want to reinforce the good that we did, but obviously you don’t want to be happy about games like this,” Mike Ribeiro said. “Small things will cost you, and obviously right now they’re costing us. Every little mistake we make feels like [opponents] come back and score on us. You learn from those situations and you don’t want that to repeat.”

There’s no telling how long it will take any team to become fully adjusted under a new coach. The learning curve varies from player to player, from line to line, and within special-teams units. One individual or group might stand out one night only to succumb to bad habits the next.

Take star winger Alex Ovechkin, who in the span of the first six games has been moved to right wing and back to left, and played with seven different linemates, most recently grinders Jay Beagle and Joey Crabb. He struggled with the switch to right wing, drifting often to the left and sabotaging his line’s efforts, and scored just one goal in six games, a power-play tally against Buffalo. But upon moving back to the left side despite muted offensive production, he’s had chances and been an aggressive presence on the forecheck, which Oates insists are encouraging signs.