Will Change Come With Trusting The Process? Breaking Down Carbery's Latest Comments & The Capitals' Plan Going Forward

Here's what the Capitals coach meant by his postgame comments on Thursday about trusting in the process.

Spencer Carbery was visibly frustrated following the Washington Capitals’ 6-3 loss at the hands of the Florida Panthers, as they collected just two of eight possible points in a vital four-game road trip and dropped to 3-6-1 over the last 10 games.

Still, though, he emphasized the importance of trusting in the process, and said that mentality won’t change.

“I know the results — everyone wants the results to come. Of course you do,” Carbery said. “You want guys to score goals, you want guys to have good years. And at the end of the day, if we’re putting ourselves in good spots and we aren’t finishing, we’re gonna continue to work. Nothing’s going to change with that.”

What he actually meant, though, is not that things will remain the same, but that the team isn’t going to stop working toward finding a solution to the problem.

At 5-on-5, the Capitals are among the top teams in expected goals-for and advanced statistics, maintaining possession of the puck and getting chances on net. It’s the lack of finish that’s the glaring issue.

Then, the elephant in the room remains special teams, specifically, the first power-play unit. Washington ranks fourth-worst in the NHL on the man advantage at 14.8 percent, and on the road trip, went just 1-for-11.

Carbery explicitly explained postgame that he intends to continue to move things around and shuffle the cards in hopes of finding the right combinations, rather than sticking to the same game plan and hoping it pans out.

He also acknowledged earlier in the week how he wants to continue putting younger players like Ryan Leonard in positions to succeed and do more with their ice time and opportunities.

“We’re gonna continue to problem solve, we’re gonna continue to find ways to score more goals, we’re gonna continue to find line combinations that have chemistry, we’re going to continue to try different players,” Carbery said.

There it is. It’s the process that isn’t going to change; the Capitals will stick to the same systems and game plan, but just find ways to execute it better, whether it’s with different personnel or different plays and mentalities.

“The process isn’t going to change just because we’re not scoring goals. That’s not how it works,” Carbery said. “We’re going to continue to do things because eventually pucks should go in and players will get here that can shoot the puck in the net, and that’s all you can trust.”

It’s still early in the season, and Washington has time to work with, but they do have to figure things out sooner rather than later.

Whether that means trying different players in different roles or looking at call-up options, or even exploring a trade down the road with Pierre-Luc Dubois on LTIR, things could very well change going forward.