"Mike Knuble chewed his gum and mulled over the question for a good five seconds. There was no rapid-fire answer to explain the frustration the Capitals felt after a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, especially after a team-wide commitment to defense over the past 11 months.

The veteran leader who wears an "A" on his chest had a lot to say about that lack of defensive urgency that seems to be pervading the Caps right now.

"It's like embarrassing when you're on the ice and guys are beating you," Knuble said. "The other night, get beat one on four, just playing like a bunch of losers. You're going to lose if you play like that — you're going to lose every night in the league. Let alone talking about playoffs and all that. You'll lose every night in the league and I think we all went through that last year.""