Well, the Caps continue their recent stretch of losing ground (3 - 7 in their last 10 games), and while the effort was mostly there, the execution was not. Not a fantastic combination.

• Shaone Morrisonn and Ben Clymer continued their recent lackluster play, and Dainius Zubrus continued his recent struggles in the offensive zone. Morrisonn and Zubrus are key cogs in the Caps' machine and the team depends on their contributions. If they aren't up to snuff, the Caps are more or less playing from behind.
• Tonight's result is certainly disappointing, but made a bit more so considering the way the Caps came out in the first period -- Brian Sutherby and Matt Bradley were hitting everything in sight, and they had several excellent cycling shifts.
• Alexander Semin had an up-and-down game, committing a bad giveaway from the point that lead to a Senators' short-handed scoring chance, and maybe going to the well once too often as far as taking on Ottawa's entire PK unit. Chris Clark also bailed him out from his bad penalty late in the first period. Semin turned in some excellent work along the boards, however, and while he was getting pushed around, he held his own.
• The Caps can't afford to have Mike Green go down for any significant amount of time. With the defensive corps struggling with less-than-proficient play and injuries, having another regular go down could end playoff talk in the nation's capital -- or force a move. Heal up quick, Mike.
• Donald Brashear didn't look completely out of place with Semin and Klepis, though the coaching staff made a point of keeping an eye on his minutes. I liked the game that Klepis played -- especially some of his puck-moving work with Alex Ovechkin on the power play.
• Is Steve Eminger the Caps' best defenseman right now? In my eyes, yes, and the coaching staff is giving him big minutes -- a team-leading 26:11, though that number is inflated due to Green's injury.

Well, the tough stretch continues, with the defending Stanley Cup champs up next on the docket for Thursday night. I don't think it's time to hit the panic button just yet (the jolly, candy-like button), but there is some cause for concern. Let's hope tomorrow night brings a win, and the Caps can build some momentum before the All-Star break.