Washington ended win streaks of Lightning, Penguins
They have won two games in a row against the NHL’s hottest teams. But the road does not get any easier for the Capitals, who face the streaking San Jose Sharks at Verizon Center on Tuesday night.
It is a rare meeting with San Jose, a Western Conference opponent. But Washington will return the favor when it plays the Sharks in California next Thursday during a five-game road trip that includes three on the West Coast. San Jose has won three in a row and seven of eight overall to climb back into a playoff spot. Over the weekend the Caps earned wins over Tampa Bay, which had just won six in a row, and Pittsburgh, which had just won eight of nine.
“[Two games against] a team in the top five in the NHL in points and the first-place team in our division with the best home record in the league and I thought we played our two most solidly complete games of the year,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said.
San Jose is in the midst of a seven-game, 13-day road trip that started in Anaheim and will end in Nashville on Feb. 15. Like the Caps, the Sharks are another recent Presidents’ Trophy winner that has little use for regular-season accolades anymore. Despite a star-studded roster and topping 107 standings points each of the last four years, including the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference the past two, San Jose has never reached the Stanley Cup finals. But like Washington, it is rounding into shape at the right time.
“They’re undefeated [in regulation] in eight games, and I think they’re one of the top teams out of the [Western Conference],” Caps forward Matt Bradley said. “We’ve had some really tough games against them the last couple of years. That’s another team that it’s easy to get up for.”
| Caps notes |
| » The Caps haven’t allowed more than two goals in regulation since a 4-2 loss to Vancouver on Jan. 14. |
| » Washington has now played at least the final 20 minutes of eight different games with just five defensemen thanks to injury. The latest was because of Mike Green‘s head injury Sunday. |
| » Caps coach Bruce Boudreau would only say that there is a better chance of injured forward Alex Semin playing Tuesday than there was Sunday vs. Pittsburgh. |
Boudreau said defenseman Mike Green would be re-evaluated on Tuesday after he took a puck to the head on the final play of the first period against Pittsburgh. Green needed stitches near his right ear and missed the final 40 minutes of Sunday’s contest. But the team remains cautious, and Boudreau would not say for sure whether Green would be ready to play.
“You’re always concerned because Mike Green is one of the best defensemen in the league,” Boudreau said. “So you’re concerned about that. You just hope that’s not the case. And we’ll wait until tomorrow morning. Hopefully he feels better.”
