It's only one game, but Capitals' 7-0 shellacking by Blue Jackets is a cause of concern for Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed

The Washington Capitals have clinched home ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, thanks to their incredible regular season. With a 50-20-9 record, they are guaranteed the top spot in the Eastern Conference, an amazing leap, considering they were the final team that qualified for the playoffs last spring.

The Capitals expect a much better fate than last season, a four-game sweep against the New York Rangers, who won't be in the playoffs this time. However, there's cause for concern after the Capitals were thoroughly embarrassed by the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Jackets took advantage of multiple defensive breakdowns from the Capitals, cruising to a convincing 7-0 victory and keeping their postseason hopes alive for another day. They trail the Montreal Canadiens by five points for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Despite resting captain and new NHL all-time leading scorer Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals were easily the better team than the Blue Jackets; but as the expression goes, that's why games are played on ice rather than paper.

The Capitals also chose to give defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who they extended with a new eight-year contract, the night off.

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The Capitals trailed 3-0 after 20 minutes

Capitals goaltender Hunter Shepard, making his season debut, allowed all seven goals against the Blue Jackets - including three in the opening 20 minutes - to put Washington in a considerable hole early on.

"We just gave up those early goals, which puts us in a hole, and then the game's essentially decided at that point," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "So, then it becomes what it was. You just get through the periods."

While the Capitals have assured themselves of the top seed in the Eastern Conference, their recent stretch of play is understandably concerning, with the Stanley Cup Playoffs so close.

They've allowed at least three goals in their last 10 games, posting a 4-5-1 record. Columbus was the far more desperate team, and it played like it, while the Capitals resembled a team just trying to close out their campaign.

Despite a very strong regular season overall, the Capitals can't afford to become complacent and take nights off ahead of the most important part of the year coming up.