Capitals 2022 Struggles Continue with Loss to Sharks

The Washington Capitals 2022 struggles continued, as they fell to the San Jose Sharks 4-1 at home Wednesday night. It was also Hockey Talks Mental Health Awareness Night at Capital One Arena

The Capitals came out of the gates flat-footed, and at 7:41 of the first period, they paid the price. A slick pass from Brent Burns found Noah Gregor for an easy tap in, and a 1-0 Sharks lead. Washington picked up the pace in the second half of the period, but James Reimer shut door on a couple good chances by the Capitals to keep his team in front. Ilya Samsonov made a couple good saves in the opening frame, while the period finished with a one goal advantage for the bad guys. Shots were 14-8 in favor of San Jose.

San Jose extended their lead to two at 3:48 of the second period. After a Washington turnover at neutral ice, a fast build up play by the Sharks led to a first NHL goal for rookie defensemen Nicolas Meloche, as he put it past Samsonov from the high slot. The second period was a story of missed opportunity for the Capitals, as James Reimer played another stellar period of hockey for the Sharks. It was a better period for the Capitals, but they entered the second intermission down by two. The Capitals outshot the Sharks 11-7 in the second frame.

Only 14 seconds into the third period the Capitals found life. An offensive zone faceoff won by Nicklas Backstrom resulted in a Daniel Sprong bullet over the blocker of Reimer, to cut the Sharks lead in half. It was Sprong’s seventh goal of the season, and it was his first game back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the past three games. The Capitals continued to pour on the pressure all period, but a Jonathan Dahlen goal with just over three minutes to play, diminished the Capitals comeback chances. Andrew Cogliano added an empty netter to seal a Sharks win, and another loss for the struggling Capitals in January. The game ended with a lengthy Garnet Hathaway fight against Jonah Gadjovich. Final shots in the game were 33-30 in favor of Washington.

The Capitals went another 0% on the powerplay going 0-3, while they went a perfect 1-1 on the penalty kill. James Reimer was a well deserved first star of the game, stopping 32 of 33 shots, while Nicolas Meloche earned second star, and Daniel Sprong secured the third star of the game. The Capitals had there chances, especially in the third, but struggled to find ways to beat a red-hot James Reimer. Alex Ovechkin was a force, recording 8 shots on goal and 7 hits in the game.

The Capitals record fell to 23-12-9 as they continue to sit in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division. Alex Ovechkin and company will attempt to end the month of January on a high a note when they visit the Dallas Stars on Friday night. The game will start at 9:00 p.m. est. or 8:00 p.m. local time.