(My Sportsbook) - The Hurricanes' 1-3-0-1 start to the season just goes to show you that a club cannot count on momentum from the previous spring carrying over to the fall.

It just doesn't work that way.

Having lost two consecutive games entering Thursday's Southeast Division clash with Washington, the Canes couldn't have found a better time to recapture some of last postseason's magic than then. Unfortunately, after a 2-1 loss to the Capitals, they're still searching for it.

The Canes had their share of chances early and Ron Francis put them ahead with a power-play goal in the second, but Washington's superstar tandem of Peter Bondra and Jaromir Jagr scored within a 10-minute span in the frame to put the Capitals ahead -- for good. Goaltender Olaf Kolzig then stymied the Hurricanes the rest of the evening and finished with 37 saves in all.

"This is not the start you want to get off to," Francis told the Raleigh News and Observer. "The last two games we've played pretty good, but we're not getting it done."

And making Thursday's close defeat that much more frustrating is the fact that Washington is essentially Carolina's only competition for the Southeast Division crown, and every matchup is imperative.

"It was playoff hockey," Kolzig said of the tilt. "There's no secret that we're the two teams in the Southeast Division that people are picking to win. we're the two teams in the Southeast Division that people are picking to win. Not to take anything away from Tampa, Florida or Atlanta, but that's the way it is.

"We want to make up as much ground in October and November as we can so we don't have to play playoff hockey from January on."

In other words, the Capitals want to get out to a large enough lead that will allow them to coast come spring. And considering they're 3-0 and the Canes are 1-3-0-1, that could happen if Carolina doesn't watch itself.

"The breaks aren't going for us right now, that's obvious," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "We have to be a little more determined in some areas."

Carolina has scored just one goal in every game except for its 5-3 win over defense-poor Atlanta, and Francis and Rod Brind'Amour have accounted for five of the nine tallies the team has scored.

UP NEXT

Maurice's troops host New Jersey on Saturday before heading out on a brief road trip. The venture takes them to play the Islanders (Tuesday) and Senators (Wednesday).