Here’s how the Capitals doomed themselves on the goal that ended their season

Patric Hornqvist’s goal with four minutes gone in the third period wasn’t the game-winner for the Penguins, but it should have been.

It’s hard to say what could have happened had Hornqvist not given the Penguins a 2-0 lead over the Capitals early in the third of Wednesday night’s Game 7. We can’t turn back the clock and see if the Capitals would have played differently if faced with a one-goal deficit instead of two. However, it was quite clear that the goal deflated any sense of urgency for the Capitals — who had just six shots on goal in the final 20 minutes.

So, how did this happen? It’s a question a lot of Capitals fans will have in the coming weeks and months of the offseason. We don’t know all the answers, but we can start the healing process for you by seeing exactly what went wrong on the goal that effectively ended the Capitals’ season.

Ultimately, it was a turnover in the defensive zone that paved the way for Hornqvist’s goal in the third period. Braden Holtby did his job in steering the puck to the awaiting defenseman in Kevin Shattenkirk, but here is where things get hairy.

Shattenkirk opts for a soft backhanded pass to Alex Ovechkin up the boards instead of clearing the puck on his forehand. The Capitals had been utilizing that short pass all evening in Game 7 to break out of their own zone, but this pass wasn’t in stride to Ovechkin like many of the others had been.

If we look at the reverse angle, we’ll see Shattenkirk had a lot of open ice to play with in his decision making.

Shattenkirk has a good section of the ice to fire the puck on his forehand off the boards and bank it out, or lift the puck up and out of the zone without risking an icing.

Just how much open ice are we talking? Let’s review.

Outside of Justin Schultz hanging out at the blue line, Shattenkirk had so much daylight to play the puck instead of a weak backhander up the boards where it may or may not have been taken out by Ovechkin. Sure, Shattenkirk’s clearing attempt might have been blocked at the blue line by Schultz, but Hornqvist likely doesn’t get as wide open as he does before his goal if that’s the case.

Mike Milbury put Ovechkin on blast after the Capitals game for his role in both Washington goals against. In particular, he called Ovechkin “lazy” among other things which we dissected this morning.

There will be a lot of narratives about Ovechkin to come from this game and series, but it’s hard to fault Ovechkin on this play. Shattenkirk’s bad decision, and Holtby’s casual play on the goal itself feel more at fault here than Ovechkin’s inability to poke the puck out of the zone. Ovechkin obviously plays a hand in Hornqvist’s goal, but there’s a reason the Capitals pay a world class goaltender. Speaking of ...

We touched on it after the game was over, but regular season Braden Holtby was nowhere to be found in this series. In seven games against the Penguins, Holtby had a .877 save percentage, dipping his postseason total for this year to a .909 save percentage.

For a goaltender that’s in the Vezina conversation, Holtby’s dip is quite concerning. The netminder has had his moments, but those were few and far between when stacked next to those from the man across the ice from him.

As for Hornqvist’s goal, it takes just a few seconds for the puck to come off the boards after Shattenkirk’s failed pass and Ovechkin’s failed clear. Hornqvist then wasted no time in putting an out-of-left-field backhander over Holtby’s shoulder.

Funny enough, Holtby’s high glove hand seemed to be in the Penguins’ playbook on the netminder all series long.

Regardless, Holtby doesn’t react much to Hornqvist’s shot, likely because of an accidental screen from his own defenseman, but it’s a shot that has to be stopped.

Holtby doesn’t even look set in his net when Hornqvist drags the puck into the slot before firing that wicked backhander. It’s also hard to imagine Holtby’s mindset here as to why he wasn’t thinking a shot on goal wouldn’t come. No other Penguin is in the vicinity, and there’s no outlet for Hornqvist to pass to. The play will either die on a defensive takeaway, or end up as a shot on net.

The screen is definitely a factor, but Holtby has to be ready for a shot attempt. His poor positioning — as evidenced by his slight movement to the left when the puck passes him — does Holtby no favors either.

So, where does this leave us? It’s not a certainty that the Capitals would have stormed back in the third period to tie the game. The Penguins’ defense played the best period of their entire postseason in those last 20 minutes. Marc-Andre Fleury looked unbeatable.

Yet, Hornqvist’s goal was effectively game over for the Capitals. Shattenkirk’s decision making needed to be better, as was Holtby and his extremely casual setup to the goal. Ovechkin’s role in this is debatable, but now considering he played with “pain numbing injections” in his lower body likely stemming from their first round series, it’s no wonder he looked a step behind.

The Capitals will have a lot to answer for now that the offseason has come for them, and this goal and their overall effort in their final period will likely be at the forefront.