Washington shutout for 8th time this season
It took the San Jose Sharks more than 51 minutes to break through against Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth. But once it finally happened they had more than enough to escape Verizon Center with a victory.
Logan Couture slipped a shot through Neuvirth’s pads with 8:05 remaining in regulation and defenseman Brian Boyle added an insurance tally just over two minutes later as San Jose took a 2-0 victory at Washington on Tuesday night.
Sharks goalie Antti Niemi finished with 25 saves. It was the eighth time this season the once-powerful Caps’ offense has been kept off the scoreboard.
“They’re a big, strong team. They get the puck in deep and they cycle it and seem to drag out plays a lot in the offensive zone,” Washington defenseman Scott Hannan said. “And that’s what we’ve got to be better at. … You get your chances against them, but you’ve got to work.”
| Caps notes |
| » Washington has been shut out eight times this season. That is the most in one year since 1998-99. |
| » The Caps took just one penalty on Tuesday against the Sharks and successfully killed it. They now have killed 36 of their last 38 penalties. |
| » Defenseman Scott Hannan suffered what he called “a stinger” late in the second period after slamming headfirst into the boards. But he returned to play in the third. |
The Caps didn’t generate much at all in the offensive zone after the opening 20 minutes. They took just four shots on goal in the second period and 12 in the third. It didn’t help that what they thought was an early goal was wiped out with 7:51 left in the first period.
Positioned behind the goal, the referee was the only man in the building who didn’t know that an Alexander Semin shot had scooted away from Niemi and that the puck was actually sitting all alone in the crease. Mathieu Perreault charged after it and in the end Niemi kicked the puck into his own goal. Thinking the puck was resting under the goalie, the referee’s whistle blew to end the play. Moments later, Washington’s bench received an apology.
“I just think he overreacted and blew the whistle too quick,” Perreault said. “Because he came up to the bench after and said ‘My bad, boys.’ ”
The Caps needed to shake off the play. But other than a breakaway by David Steckel in the second — the puck dribbled off his stick without a shot — they struggled to create anything. In the end, Couture beat Neuvirth (34 saves) on a soft goal. The rookie let in another questionable one from Boyle at 14:07.
“In the end [Neuvirth] was good for 51 minutes,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But if you want to be a great goalie in this league when the game is on the line you have to be the one to stop those.”
