Three keys in Blues' 5-2 loss against Capitals

And when the interim coach talks of lack of effort, that usually gets a team's attention moving forward, especially the next time those same players take the ice.

Well on this instance, it didn't, and it was much of the same in a 5-2 loss against the Washington Capitals, the third straight loss (0-2-1) for the Blues (21-20-2) at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

And to make matters worse, former Blue T.J. Oshie's seventh NHL hat trick came 26 months after his last one.

Nathan Walker also jumped in on the let's have a night against a former opponent with both goals for the Blues, who will host Washington (22-15-6) on Saturday, but it was of little consolation when many of Walker's teammates didn't follow his lead in limited minutes.

Let's take a look at the three keys:

1. Where were the Blues' top players? -- For the Blues to succeed, they need their top players, and top paid players, to perform up to standards.

Many of them on this night lacked any kind of bite, lacked execution and just looked disinterested throughout.

It's tough to pick out Robert Thomas, who has carried the Blues' offense much of the season, but this was one of those rare nights when their top center iceman was barely noticeable despite playing 25:12. Brayden Schenn could have scored a hat trick in this game with some of the Grade A chances he got and had eight shot attempts but produced nothing in 21:01. Kevin Hayes -- no shots on goal in 12:23; Brandon Saad -- one shot on goal in 12:51; Jordan Kyrou had nothing on two shots despite playing 21:29; Pavel Buchnevich had seven shot attempts (three on goal) in 23:47, including a great chance early in the game but also had no points.

Meanwhile, Washington's top players (Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, Oshie and Max Pacioretty), those four combined for four goals, four assists and 15 shots on goal (25 shot attempts), far outplaying the Blues' top skaters. 

2. Special teams nightmare -- Yes, the Blues' power-play has been much better of late, including scoring five goals in three straight games. But on a night in which it could have continued to build and really make a difference, it vanished going 0-for-5, including a four-minute one in the first period.

Not only did they not execute on any of them, but at the very least, the Blues needed to build some momentum, and once again, their failures seemed to build momentum for the opposition.

And for all the talk of how poor the power play has been this season, the penalty kill has stunk as well.

Despite their firepower, the Capitals came into the game 30th in the league in efficiency but scored twice (Oshie both)and for all intents and purposes, Strome's third-period goal 34 seconds in that made it a 4-1 game came four seconds after an interference on Jake Neighbours -- by the way it was a horrible call -- late in the second period, so one can say the Caps scored three times with the man advantage and the Blues were blanked -- again.

3. Anemic forecheck -- For the second straight game and multiple times on the season, the Blues lacked any kind of a persistent forecheck.

Too many one-and-done plays in the offensive, and Washington defensemen were not pressured much throughout the night and neither was former Blues goalie Charlie Lindgren, who had a light night in goal for the Capitals facing only 20 shots.

The Blues had 12 shots in the game at even strength -- 12! That's poor to say the least, and a large portion of it is due to a lack of forecheck, and when you don't forecheck, you don't hit. The Blues had a grand total of seven of them and just made it too each for the Capitals to skate with the puck.