That's how head coach Spencer Carbery described the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals after their first game of the year without their captain in tow.
Carbery was far from impressed with the team's offense in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, as Washington struggled to get much going and saw all four lines struggle.
"I didn't think we were very good with the puck. We threw it away a ton, turned it over. Couldn't generate any substantial offensive zone sequences," Carbery said. "Had a few opportunities off the rush, but those were all on their mistakes... we didn't have anything that we were working for and generating."
He added that Washington also struggled when it came to challenging Alexandar Georgiev, who stopped 29 of 30 in his return from injury.
"I don't know if we had a secondary chance, that's not a recipe for success for our team," he added.
Ovechkin is out for the next 4-6 weeks with a fractured left fibula. With the captain out, Tom Wilson said that it's a team effort and that everyone will have to step up, and agreed with Carbery's assessment that there needs to be more from an offensive standpoint.
"We had a couple new combinations, guys maybe feeling each other out a little bit but i think we can definitely hold onto more pucks and create a little bit more offfensively," Wilson said.
Pierre-Luc Dubois had the lone goal for the Capitals, ending a 12-game goal drought, but was disappointed with the defeat.
"Nice to score, but nice to win," he said simply.
Washington will be off on Friday before hosting the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. There, the goal will be to play harder without Ovechkin in the mix.
"That's bigger shoes to fill than any other guy... I think we need a little bit more energy as a group," Wilson said.
