2023 has not been a happy new year for the Washington Capitals, as they have posted an underwhelming record of 7-9-1 since January 1. One of the reasons has been the dearth of goals among the team’s forwards.
Among the 14 forwards on the Capitals’ current roster, eight of them have not scored a goal in the last five consecutive games in which they have played. Two more forwards have not scored a goal in their last four games.
The longest goal-less streak belongs to Lars Eller who has not scored a goal in 17 games, last scoring on December 27.
The next longest goal-less streak is Anthony Mantha, who has not scored a goal since New Year’s Eve, with no goals in his last 11 appearances. Mantha’s extended slump has prompted Coach Peter Laviolette to healthy scratch him for four more games, plus he missed one more game due to illness.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel has not scored in his last nine consecutive games, scoring his last goal on January 6. Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano last scored on January 19 and their scoring drought is now seven games. Coincidentally, Strome and Milano recently signed contract extensions with the team and were benched for a good portion of their loss against San Jose.
Conor Sheary currently has a five-game scoreless streak. He last scored on January 24 but had a 12-game scoring drought prior to that game.
Below is a table of the team’s forwards, the date of their most recent goal, and the length of their scoring drought.
| Player | Last Goal | Drought | |
| Alex Ovechkin | 1/26/2023 | 4 | |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov | 2/12/2023 | 0 | |
| Dylan Strome | 1/19/2023 | 7 | |
| Conor Sheary | 1/24/2023 | 5 | 12 game drought before that |
| Marcus Johansson | 1/26/2023 | 4 | |
| Anthony Mantha | 12/31/2022 | 11 | Scratched for 5 other games |
| Sonny Milano | 1/19/2023 | 7 | 5 game drought before that |
| Nic Dowd | 1/3/2023 | 5 | Last game 1/16/2022 |
| T.J. Oshie | 1/21/2023 | 5 | |
| Garnet Hathaway | 2/11/2023 | 1 | |
| Lars Eller | 12/27/2022 | 17 | |
| Nicolas Aube-Kubel | 1/6/2023 | 9 | |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 2/11/2023 | 1 | |
| Tom Wilson | 1/19/2023 | 2 | Last game 1/24/2022 |
It’s hard to win games when you don’t score. Making the playoffs will be difficult unless most of the team’s forwards can regain their scoring touch.
By Diane Doyle