Ken Hitchcock sang the praises of his team's even-strength play Tuesday morning and then watched them live or die on special teams Tuesday night.
Dallas couldn't capitalize on a third-period power play and then lost in the three-on-three overtime 4-3 to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
This hockey thing is a lot more complicated than it looks.
"We've really improved our five-on-five play," Hitchcock said before the game. "We relied on our special teams at the beginning of the year to gather us points, and as a coach, that's a slippery slope. It's one of those things where if one or the other gets cold it's hard to win.