CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks were feeling pretty good about themselves after 35 minutes Friday night.

They were coming off arguably their best game of the season, a 5-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, and continued that success early in Friday’s game against the Washington Capitals. Chicago led 2-0 through 1½ periods and was in firm control at home.

And then, it all came crashing down. The Capitals scored their first goal at 15 minutes, 3 seconds of the second period, put in another with 47 seconds remaining in the frame, then one more with 5 seconds before the second intermission. Like that, the Blackhawks found themselves trailing and feeling a whole different way.

“I think we were doing what we wanted to do coming off a game where we did a lot of things right,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “Nothing serious, giving up nothing. Make a bad decision, and it’s in our net. Then, it’s in our net, in our net.”

The Blackhawks’ season bears some resemblance to Friday's 3-2 loss to the Capitals. It has included some positives, some negatives and a lot of inconsistency. Their 7-6-1 record is a pure reflection of the way they have played through 14 games.

“It’s our consistency, it’s our accountability,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “We need to really get up to snuff in those areas. When we do, we’re a really good hockey team and tough to beat. But when we don’t, we’re just another team. We can’t accept that level of effort. We got to know we need four lines working every night. That’s when we’re going to be a really good team. We’ll keep reminding ourselves of that.”

Toews thought the Blackhawks could also have used a reminder to close out Friday's second period strong. Defenseman Brent Seabrook pinched too far and allowed the Capitals a 2-on-1 rush on their first goal. The second came after multiple chances on Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford. The final tally came when the Blackhawks couldn’t get the puck out of their zone in the period’s final seconds, and the Capitals took advantage of some net-front presence off a shot from the point.

“I don’t think it’s anything they took from us, as much as it is letting up and kind of getting away from our pace and giving them chances that we didn’t make them earn,” Toews said. “We can’t be happy with that.

“We got satisfied for a short amount of time. I think we felt comfortable with our 2-0 lead and it came back to bite us. We can’t be happy with that. That’s something we have to deal with and learn from right away and not let that happen again.”

The Blackhawks’ offense also failed to keep firing. Friday marked the 10th time in 14 games that they haven't scored more than two goals. Chicago again compiled plenty of shots, putting the puck on Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby 40 times, but could get only two past him.

Asked whether the Blackhawks struggled to get up for the regular season because of all their playoff success, Toews wouldn’t stand behind that as an excuse.

“Whatever it is we’ve been through, what we’ve been through, played a lot of hockey,” Toews said. “We don’t know what it’s like to be any other team in this league. So no one makes excuses. You have to be ready no matter what. It’s a simple question. If you want to win games, you’ll do what it takes. Right now, we’re not doing that often enough.”

Quenneville echoed that when talking about his team’s record.

“Not good enough,” Quenneville said. “We’ve lost some tough games. Tonight was exactly how we lost the other five. That’s where we’re at.”