In Tuesday’s game with the Washington Capitals hosting the San Jose Sharks, one of the NHL’s top stars Alex Ovechkin did not play because of personal reasons. He had missed the morning practice. This game marks the first time Joel Ward returned to the Verizon Center after being traded during the offseason. Congratulations to John Carlson who played in his 400th NHL game and to Paul Martin for his 700th career game.
Throughout the period, the teams looked evenly matched. At the 5:30 mark, Jay Beagle took the first penalty of the night for slashing against Joe Thornton. The Sharks had a strong power play and had possession for the first full minute. Their best chance came when Logan Couture had the open net but missed by hitting the left post. Capitals’ goaltender Braden Holtby made some great saves during the penalty kill as the Sharks kept the applying pressure.
Shortly after, Justin Williams had a very close chance, but Martin Jones was able to get the rebound off pads. Marcus Johansson took a shot on the rebound but again Jones came through with a block. About halfway into the period, the Capitals incurred their second penalty of the night. Brooks Orpik took a tripping penalty against Joe Pavelski. Three seconds later, Pavelski passed the puck to Brent Burns who wristed it at the net. Thornton deflected it in for the power play goal, giving the Sharks the lead and first goal of the night.
Although both teams looked sharp, the Sharks outshot the Capitals 17 to eight. It should be noted that the Capitals took three penalties during the period with the last one coming with four minutes left when Evgeny Kuznetsov took a hooking penalty against Burns. This could explain the large shot discrepancy because given the eye test, the Sharks did not seem to be overwhelming the Capitals.
As the second period opened, the Sharks took firm control within the first three minutes. Chris Tierney drove to the net and passed it back to Mike Brown for the goal. This put the Sharks up two to nothing. Barclay Goodrow was also credited with an assist. The Capitals battled back quickly when Kuznetsov passed to T.J. Oshie from behind the net, but Jones was able to make the block. The Sharks responded when Tommy Wingels took a shot that ended with a rebound off Holtby. However, Tomas Hertl was right in front during the screen for Wingels’s shot, so he spun around and took the rebound for a goal. Long Beach, California-native Matthew Nieto also got an assist on the goal that made it three to zero in favor of the Sharks.
Halfway through period, Jason Chimera slapped the puck at the net, and it may have deflected off Beagle to Dmitry Orlov who put it in the net for the Capitals’ first goal. However, Sharks’ coach Peter DeBoer used his coach’s challenge, his first, to call for goaltender interference on Beagle. From the video, it was clear that Beagle brushed against Jones’s glove and was just inside the crease, but there was no egregious interference. In fact, none of the Sharks players seemed to object to the goal when it was announced. No player was looking for a call. It took several minutes for the Toronto Video Room to hand down its decision. Because there was no clear-cut interference, most assumed that the goal would be allowed. However, it was ruled that Beagle had indeed interfered with Jones and the goal was disallowed. The scored returned to three for the Sharks and zero for the Capitals. “Refs, you suck” chants reverberated throughout the Verizon Center.
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The disallowed goal seemed to shake the Capitals a bit, but their fortune seemed to change when the Sharks took their first penalty about a minute later. Burns and Oshie were battling for the puck in the corner and pursued their contest in front of the net. It was there that Burns knocked down Oshie right in front of the referee. Burns got the penalty for high-sticking against Oshie, though it looked more like tripping or roughing. The Sharks had a highly effective penalty kill and forced a lot of turnovers as the Capitals struggled for possession. In fact, they did not record a single shot while on the power play.
As the third period opened, Burns took another penalty. This time it was for hooking against Johansson. Again, the Capitals struggled on their power play and were unable to record a shot. About 4:30 in, Stanislav Galiev was called for holding against defenseman Martin, and the Sharks went on the power play for the fourth time of the night. The Sharks were weak, and the Capitals had a couple short-handed chances. On one of them, Chimera had the puck with Wingels on his tail. As he got close to the net, Wingels’s stick got caught in Chimera’s skates, and he crashed into the net. He struggled to skate off the ice, and he had trouble putting weight on his left leg. Wingels should have gotten a tripping penalty, but there was no call. For the second time that night, a “Refs, you suck,” chant ensued.
Frustrated, Chimera threw an elbow as he skated by the bench. Thornton saw and got in his face. Chimera received a penalty for unsportsmanlike penalty against Thornton. About eight minutes in the period, Goodrow took holding penalty against Orlov, and the Capitals tried to cut down the lead to two goals. Their best chance came when Kuznetsov missed empty net just wide and drew penalty another penalty. When Kuznetsov came in for the goal, Burns slashed him a bit but Jones tripped him. Jones was called for slashing, but Burns sat in for him. The Capitals made a solid effort in their power play but could not get a goal.
With four minutes left, Barry Trotz pulled Holtby with four minutes left in the game. The Capitals looked strong and tried to make a comeback. They took control of the puck for a good two minutes. However, it was then when Nieto scored an empty netter from the neutral zone, making it four goals to none. By this time, all fight had gone out of the Capitals and with 46.5 seconds left, Tierney scored an empty net goal. Holtby was sent back in between the pipes.
In the end, the Capitals looked like a team missing its top two players, Nicklas Backstrom (hip injury) and Ovechkin. They had a great first period effort because they do have depth through their offseason acquisitions. However, by the second period, the Sharks took command of the game. Jones became the first goalie in Sharks history to record two shutouts in his first three games. He now has back-to-back shut outs and has not allowed a goal in 178:11.
Of note, it will be interesting to see if the goaltender interference that was ruled in the coach’s challenge will set a precedent in the NHL. While there was no dispute that there was indeed contact, what was being debated was whether the slight touch actually constituted interference. Jones was not knocked out of position or roughly hit. Beagle did come into the crease but just barely. Just how much will goaltenders be protected?
