Capitals Fall To Sharks, 4-1

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Jon Sorensen
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

The Washington Capitals fell to the San Jose Sharks, 4-1 on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. The loss drops the Capitals record to 23-12-9 (55 points) on the season.

The Sharks opened the scoring early in the first frame and held on for a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. They would add another tally in the middle frame for a 2-0 lead at the second break.

The Capitals finally dented the twine just 14 seconds into the final frame with a goal from Daniel Sprong, but the Sharks would answer late in the third period for the 3-1 lead. They would add an empty net goal for the 4-1 win.

STATS

STARTERS

Ilya Samsonov (13-4-0-3, 2.77 GAA, .903 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the  Capitals. James Reimer (12-8-0-1, 2.83 GAA, .914 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Sharks. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

FIRST PERIOD

The Sharks opened the scoring with a tally from Noah Gregor (2) at 7:41 of the first. Brent Burns (24) and Alexander Barabanov (16) had the helpers. With the goal the Capitals have allowed the first goal in four straight home games.

After being dominated in the first 10 minutes, the Capitals began to tilt the ice in their favor in the second half of the period, but were unable to finish a score.

The period would end with the Sharks leading 1-0. Sharks led in shots 26-22 in the first 20 minutes. They led in scoring Chances, 17-14, high-danger chances 9-3 and expected goals 1.7 to .87. There were no penalties called in the first frame.

SECOND PERIOD

The Sharks extended their lead to 2-0 with a tally from Nicolas Meloche (1) at 3:58 of the middle frame. Matt Nieto had the lone assist.

The period would end with the Sharks leading 2-0. The Capitals led in shot attempts 14-13 in the middle frame. The Sharks led in high-danger Chances 5-3 in the second period and led in expected goals 2.92 to 1.63.

The Sharks were 0 for 1 on the power play. The Capitals were 0 for 2 on the man advantage  extending their streaks to 0 for the last 15 and 5 for the last 60.

THIRD PERIOD

The Capitals finally got on the scoreboard with a goal from Daniel Sprong (7) just 14 seconds into the final frame. Nicklas Backstrom (7) had the lone assist.

The Sharks reinstated their two goal lead with a tally from Jonathan Dahlen (9) at 16:51 of the third period. Matt Nieto had the lone assist.

That would be the final.

Garnet Hathaway would drop the gloves for an extended brawl after regulation time expired.

SHAVINGS

  • Nicklas Backstrom picked up the primary assist on Sprong’s goal, his seventh assist of the season. Backstrom is now four assists shy of passing Rod Brind’Amour (732) for the 48th most assists in NHL history and 11 points shy of 1,000 career points.

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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3 Responses to Capitals Fall To Sharks, 4-1

  1. steven says:
    January 26, 2022 at 11:32 pm

    The lack of a power play is going to really haunt this team. The league has finally figured it out and they show no interest in changing things. Put #8 in his office and keep feeding him the puck. However other teams are keeping their sticks on the ice and in passing lanes leaving other players open and yet they wont shoot. Also looks like some of the younger guys have started to hit the wall with playing everyother night and all the travel. I hope that management doesnt sell their young players to get more older players and further mortgage the future of this team. Somehow I feel that their inability to win in OT and the shootout is going to cost them as every other team in their division has games in hand thus having the ability to move further ahead of the Caps. Once again they came out on the short end of draws and that is really a killer. As for the rumor of trading for Fleury yes he is a good goalie but we would ahve to give up way to much to get him and for what a first round exit in the playoffs? Let the guys here or in Hershey play and show confidence in them!!!!!!

    Reply
    • Marky says:
      January 27, 2022 at 9:27 am

      I don’t know what you were watching but they did different things on the power play last night. Ovi barely saw the puck and others shot and tried to get rebounds. They also tried carrying the puck in with and without the slingshot and dumped it in one more than one occasion. I just see the team as out of synch with timing in general. They are chasing the puck and a little behind play. They have bad luck too right now. In 2011 the Bruins won the cup with the worst power play in the league. The power play is struggling for sure but it’s not what is going to keep the team from playoff success in my opinion.

      Reply
      • DC Scappeli says:
        January 27, 2022 at 10:11 am

        yes, they did change up their look and had more puck movement.

        I wish they could get more bodies in front of the goalie and block sight lines more. It seems like when they send shots on net, it’s too often from the circles, or even blue line, but there’s just not enough people in front for second chances.

        Reply

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