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Caps beat Sharks 4-1, which apparently is a thing that happens now?

By Peter Hassett

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December 4, 2017 10:44 pm

The Washington Capitals used to never beat the San Jose Sharks, but the Washington Capitals just beat the San Jose Sharks. Here’s how.

Devante Smith-Pelly opened up scoring with a great deflection of John Carlson’s shot.

Alex Ovechkin made it 2-0 in the second period with an intrepid rush goal. San Jose’s Timo Meier cracked the shutout a few minutes later after a beneficent bounce off the boards gave him a prime shot from the slot. Before the third period was up, Brett Connolly scored a controversial goal thanks to some thrilling stick work from Kuznetsov and Ovechkin.

In the third, Jakub Vrana made it 4-1 showing some patience and positioning during a power play. That’s that.

Caps beat Sharks 4-1!

  • TJ Oshie missed the end of the game after a nasty hit to the head. Oshie’s hit on Logan Couture went wrong, leaving him prone as Joe Thornton‘s waist collided with Oshie’s head. For a player who didn’t miss 14 games last season to a concussion, this would be unfortunate. For Oshie, this is terrifying.
  • I don’t think the Thornton hit was malicious. Thornton was braking and turned away from the hit, though I suppose it’s unsporting for him to line up against a player who’s already in a battle with someone else. Regardless, Tom Wilson demanded a fight at the dawn of the third period. Whatever: Thornton played 58 seconds in the third period. I’ll take it.
  • There were other fights, but I sincerely do not care.

  • With four goals in 28 games, Devante Smith-Pelly has tied his goal output over 53 games last season. In an intermission interview with Al Koken, DSP said he tries not to think about last year’s troubled campaign with the Devils. Playing with Ovi this time around and scoring dirty goals like tonight’s are a good way to change the subject.
  • Brett Connolly‘s goal is a tale all by itself. Evgeny Kuznetsov got decked at the blue line but somehow got a pass off. Ovechkin took it next, handling the puck deftly to set up Connolly, who roofed it. Except the refs didn’t see it. Before the play was dead, Ovechkin may have scored again (we’ll never know?). The officials reviewed the play and determined that Connolly’s did in fact cross the goal line. But then Peter DeBoer challenged the play for a potential offside – way back at the Kuznetsov zone entry. It was close, but the goal stood, so the Sharks got assessed a bench minor for delaying the game with the failed challenge. I’m exhausted just remembering all that.
  • Dmitry Orlov and Matt Niskanen drew the short straw, facing Joe Thornton whenever possible. It was a tough assignment, and they were not unscathed. After a dangerous defensive-zone turnover from Orlov, Niskanen laid down on the ice to fizzle a scoring chance. Plus, the Meier goal was the consequence of Niskanen’s failed clear.
  • Alex Ovechkin played like a man possessed. Or maybe he played like a man who is 25 years old. He had a bunch of breakaways, he carried the puck into the offensive zone solo nearly on every attack, he had an excellent assist on the Connolly goal, and his own marker was rare backhand magic. That goal made Ovechkin the first and only NHLer to hit the 20-mark so far this season, and it locked him into 20th place on the all-time scoring list.
  • In the waning seconds, Brenden Dillon put a two-handed slash on Madison Bowey. We’ll see what Bowey’s status is. Dillon’s gonna hear from Player Safety too.
  • Travis Boyd made his NHL debut and put one shot on net in eight minutes and change of ice.

Not for nothing, but that’s Philipp Grubauer‘s second win of the season – back-to-back with his first. Like the last one, the team in front of him again played well, but Grubauer deserves credit for making some saves that no Authentic Fan could reasonably expect.

The Caps have won five of their last six games. They have the league’s hottest goal scorer, a stout defense, and two solid backstops. They’re climbing the Metro standings. But they need TJ Oshie healthy too. Here’s hoping.

Full Coverage of Caps vs Blue Jackets

Headline photo: Patrick Smith

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