Sharks 5, Caps 2
What a surprise. Another visit to the Shark Tank ends with the Caps on the losing end. They still haven’t won there since Oct. 30, 1993 – the seventh game ever played at HP Pavilion.
Dennis Wideman had a goal and an assist for Washington, which tied the game at 2-2 just 44 seconds into the third period on Joel Ward’s first goal since Nov. 5. Unfortunately, San Jose’s top line punked them on the next shift with some deft passing. Patrick Marleau swiped a perfect pass from teammate Joe Thornton into the net 15 seconds after Ward’s goal to put Washington under the gun again.
The Sharks were playing their third game in four nights. But the Caps were without defenseman Mike Green, whose groin apparently tightened up in the second period. Not sure if his absence also had anything to do with a big hit dropped on him by Sharks forward Andrew Desjardins 5 minutes, 26 seconds into the second period. He took one more shift and didn’t return. That left Washington short-handed on the blueline.
Matt Hendricks thought he’s tied the game 1:42 later when his shot deep in the slot deflected off the crossbar and out of play. Several players were already raising their hands in celebration. A Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal during 4-on-4 play at 8:51 gave San Jose a two-goal cushion. Washington had its chances. But goalie Antti Niemi (28 saves) was sharp and the Caps failed to take advantage of a few good ones. Definitely could have had four or five. But that’s probably what they would have needed given Green’s absence and some otherwise uneven defensive play.
That includes the forwards. Alex Semin lost a battle in front to Vlasic, who had no trouble finishing his own rebound. Hold the Sharks off there and maybe you have a shot late. Instead, the Caps had to pull goalie Tomas Vokoun (35 saves) with 2:08 left. Alex Ovechkin probably should have shown some restraint after Brad Winchester’s crushing hit on Semin was ruled a charging penalty. Heat of the moment, I guess. But that would have been a power play for Washington if Ovechkin keeps his cool and a great opportunity to tie the game against a team that’s struggled on the penalty kill.
The big story now will be Green’s health – and that of center Nicklas Backstrom, too. He didn’t play at all as the team remains cautious following the elbow Backstrom took to the head from Rene Bourque on Tuesday against Calgary. He’d practiced Thursday and Friday. Hard to believe they Caps would have sent their top scorer (42 points) on a flight if they didn’t think there was a chance he could play in one of these two games in California. They play the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night at Staples Center. Otherwise, just keep him at home and get him ready for the Penguins on Wednesday? We’ll get more word during a practice on Sunday in San Jose.
Not sure what to say about Green. Guy can’t catch a break. He came around the net, played the puck late and paid for it when Desjardins tagged him. Not sure, obviously, if he reinjured the groin on that specific play, but it was another awkward hit – much like the one from Devils forward Ryan Carter where he originally injured the groin on Nov. 11 against New Jersey. Green had missed 23 games in a row with that injury and 29 of 30 thanks to an injured ankle suffered on Oct. 22. He returned against the Flames and made it through that game unscathed. That was a relief considering the last three regular-season games in which he’d returned from injury, Green immediately was hurt again. Again, we don’t know how serious this is. But Green’s frustration level has to be off the charts.
So the record falls to 21-16-2 and the Caps remain stuck on 44 standings points. This was a blown chance to make up more ground on the Florida Panthers (20-13-8, 48 points), who earned just one point in a back-to-back set of games Thursday and Friday in New York and had played three more games than Washington. Well, make that two games in hand now for the Caps. The Panthers host Vancouver on Monday night at home. Washington dropped to 10th place in the Eastern Conference – though it also has games in hand on the five teams directly in front of it.
The Caps are 15-29-6 all time in Los Angeles so that city hasn’t been much kinder to them over the years than San Jose. But they’ve also only played in Staples Center six times since the start of the 2000-01 season. And while they’ve won three of those contests, they have dropped three of the last four – Dec. 6, 2003 (7-3), Nov. 20, 2008 (5-2) and Jan. 2, 2010 (2-1). The lone recent victory was Dec. 14, 2005 (3-2). More bad news? Washington hasn’t handled the Kings at home either. Los Angeles has won its last two appearances at Verizon Center. So in the last three seasons the Caps are 0-4 in this series. Would be nice to come home from the trip with at least two points and a better spot in the standings. But those will be hard earned. Los Angeles is also playing much better with a 6-1-3 record in its last 10 games.
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