WASHINGTON — It was the last game before a nine-day break, with an afternoon start, a delayed puck drop after a pregame ceremony and a matchup against a team that played the day before. The Washington Capitals tend to struggle in all of those scenarios when faced with them individually. With those four factors working in concert, Sunday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club at Capital One Arena had the makings of a loss before it even began.

Washington’s players and coaches said all the right things after practice Saturday and before the game Sunday, talking about the importance of finishing strong before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament and starting well in the first period to jump on Utah in a back-to-back.

But less than two minutes in, the Capitals found themselves trailing by two. As it has done throughout the season, Washington rallied to force overtime, but it came up short in the end. Utah’s Nick Schmaltz scored the winner in the shootout as the Capitals lost, 5-4.

“We just didn’t start on time, and we’re down 2-0 early,” Capitals Coach Spencer Carbery said. “We get that power-play goal to get us back into it, and then we give up another one. The first two were not very good. It is what it is. Once again, our guys deserve credit. We fought back in the third. … We find a way to get that game tied up, and that’s what we’ll take out of it. But afternoon game, weren’t nearly good enough.”

Goaltender Logan Thompson made 23 saves as he fell to 24-2-5 for the Capitals (36-11-8). Connor Ingram started for Utah (24-23-9) and made nine saves on 11 shots before leaving less than 13 minutes in with an upper-body injury. Karel Vejmelka, who was in net for Saturday’s loss at Carolina, impressed as he stopped 30 of 32 shots in relief.

A screened Thompson was beaten by a long-range shot from Josh Doan just 1:10 in, which was a continuation of a trend. One of the NHL’s best netminders this season overall, Thompson has proved vulnerable to shots from distance, particularly when the Capitals don’t clear the screener away from him as the shot is taken. According to the NHL’s data, Thompson’s save percentage from long range is in the 51st percentile leaguewide; from all areas of the ice, it’s in the 97th.

Utah added a second goal just 32 seconds after Doan’s. Michael Carcone worked around defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to be in position for a redirection of a pass from Dylan Guenther. Thompson had committed to Guenther as the shooter, so the far side of the net was open for Carcone’s finish.

“It’s not a good enough start,” winger Tom Wilson said. “If we started at puck drop, we’re walking away with a different result.”

A tripping penalty on Olli Maatta put Washington on the power play at 3:15. From the bumper position between the circles, Wilson fired home a pass from center Pierre-Luc Dubois to put the Capitals on the board at 3:47.

But the early flurry wasn’t finished. Utah’s Jack McBain restored his team’s two-goal margin off the rush at 7:07, beating Thompson over the glove from close range.

“They’re a skilled team. They’ve got a lot of talent,” Thompson said. “The two final goals of the first period, they made some good plays. Sometimes, you make the save, and other times, it’s a hard league. They’re trying to score, too.”

The Capitals went back on the power play just past the midway point of the frenetic opening period, this time with Kevin Stenlund boxed for tripping. As Washington worked the puck around the offensive zone, Ingram made the initial save on a blast from captain Alex Ovechkin and stopped a rebound try by Wilson, but Dubois found space to tuck the puck past Ingram’s pad for his 13th goal.

Ingram exited after Dubois’ goal. Vejmelka stopped all four shots he faced in the final 7:22 of the period.

Winger Brandon Duhaime took a holding penalty to put Utah on the power play early in the second. At 2:47, Guenther fired a one-timer from the left circle that flew into the upper corner of the net and returned Utah’s lead to two.

Washington played a solid period from there but couldn’t beat Vejmelka. That changed at 4:49 of the third, when center Dylan Strome picked up a rebound of another shot from Ovechkin and tucked it in.

Shortly after he scored, Strome left after blocking a shot and falling awkwardly. He returned after a quick trip to the dressing room and finished the game.

“Just in the kneecap, just a little stinger,” he said. “Not used to blocking those shots. Trying to help out. … It was just a dead leg, but it quickly went away.”

The Capitals pulled Thompson for an extra attacker with just under two minutes to play. Seconds later, after an offensive-zone faceoff win by Strome, Wilson redirected a pass from Ovechkin past Vejmelka to tie the score at 18:29. It was Ovechkin’s third assist of the game.

“O makes two big plays to set up [Strome’s and Wilson’s] goals, on scenarios where I think it’s an underrated thing that a lot of people don’t talk about,” Carbery said. “Everybody is so focused on his shot. … But he’s got that look-off pass, the shot-pass that I call it. You see it on display, both those goals.”

Strome, Ovechkin and defenseman Jakob Chychrun spent more than two minutes on the ice to close overtime, defending a few chances by Utah and finding a couple of their own. Vejmelka got his pad on a backdoor attempt from Chychrun with 10 seconds left, the best chance for either team in overtime.

Schmaltz beat Thompson on Utah’s first shootout attempt, and Washington’s season-long difficulties in the tiebreaker continued: None of its three shooters — Dubois, Aliaksei Protas and Strome — could convert.

“Usually I enjoy shootouts. I got a little ahead of [Schmaltz] on the first one,” Thompson said. “He made a good play. But [historically], I’ve always been pretty strong in shootouts. That’s hockey, and tonight just wasn’t my night.”

Washington enters the 4 Nations break in second place in the NHL with 80 points, one behind the Winnipeg Jets, and leading the Eastern Conference by nine points over the Florida Panthers. The Capitals return Feb. 22 at Pittsburgh.

“We’ll take the point,” Carbery said. “Move into the break and move on.”