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WASHINGTON -- Even if a win is a win is a win, especially for a team chasing a playoff berth, Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz gave a rather blunt and unflattering assessment of his team's performance in this particular victory. "I didn't think we had a real hard work ethic, weren't diligent on our responsibilities, and that was probably one of our sloppier games," Trotz said. He wasn't done. He said the Capitals "got two lucky goals" en route to beating the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Thursday night when Evgeny Kuznetsov deflected in defenseman Matt Niskanen's shot 73 seconds into overtime. Niskanen originally was credited with the winner, but the goal was switched to Kuznetsov via an official scoring change announced by the Capitals on Friday. Trotz went through a laundry list of issues for a team that entered the day seventh in the Eastern Conference. "Our decision-making was poor," he lamented. "Our execution was poor," he added. "I'll say our resiliency and determination were average, at best," he continued. "We had too many guys that weren't getting it done tonight." And looking ahead, he pointed out that two of the NHL's top teams are coming up on the schedule, with the Capitals hosting the Predators on Saturday, then playing at the Rangers on Sunday. "As I said to the guys," Trotz recounted, "if we play that way in the next two games, it won't be pretty for us." Clearly in a sour mood, Trotz even complained about problems with the playing conditions. "We're going to have to get those boards fixed in the corner there. So we'll have to talk to the building here, because that almost cost us two goals. That can't happen," he said. "It's supposed to be a home-ice advantage." Trotz's players seemed to get the message about how he felt about their play. "Wasn't our best game. Wasn't my best game," said goalie Braden Holtby, who made 29 saves but helped blow a 2-0 lead by allowing Travis Zajac's short-handed goal in the second period and Steve Bernier's tying goal with 29.2 seconds left in regulation. "We all know we have to be a lot better against Nashville and New York coming up." Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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