Monday's game at SAP Center came down to a special teams battle, and the Capitals lost.
It was a tight game between the Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks on Monday that ultimately came down to special teams — and Washington lost that battle.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored and Darcy Kuemper had a strong game, but ultimately, continued power-play struggles and more trouble on the penalty kill led to a 2-1 loss.
Here are all the takeaways from the defeat, as the Capitals have now dropped their last two games after winning five straight.
Capitals Can't Solve Power Play Woes, Penalty Kill Stumbles Again
Head coach Spencer Carbery had said there would be drastic changes coming to the power play, with the team unable to convert on 28 different PP opportunities over the last 10 games. And though there were new looks and chances against San Jose, the Capitals couldn't seize their opportunity to end the drought.
Washington went 0-for-3 against the Sharks, who have the third-worst penalty kill in the league. There were some grade-A opportunities, with Alex Ovechkin hitting the post and Tom Wilson just missing out on a tap-in, but at the end of the day, the team couldn't get on the board.
The Capitals are now 0-for-31 over the last 11 games and are 3-for-53 (5.7 percent) this season. Washington has also now technically gone one hour without a power-play goal.
On the other side of special teams, the penalty kill again struggled, surrendering a goal for the third consecutive game. After going 10 games without allowing a power-play goal, the Capitals' PK has now given up five PPGs over the last three games. Luke Kunin's tally on SJ's third-period power play stood as the game-winner.
Capitals Pile On Shots, Kuznetsov Gets Lone Goal On Odd Play
Washington was all over the Sharks at SAP Center, spending a good amount of time in the offensive zone and piling the shots on Mackenzie Blackwood, who was among San Jose's heroes of the night.
The Capitals ended up outshooting the Sharks, 34-23, while also tilting the ice significantly in the second and spending a lot of time on the attack. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to solve Blackwood.
Ultimately, with his team trailing 1-0 in the second following a first-period goal from Fabian Zetterlund, Kuznetsov was able to get on the board to help Washington eventually force overtime — and in strange fashion.
The Russian fired a shot that went off Mackenzie Blackwood's pad, and the rebound then hit a Sharks defender before ending up in the back of the net. It marked Kuznetsov's fourth point over the last five games.
Top Shelf Takes
- Martin Fehervary picked up an assist as he made his return from a lower-body injury that held him out for five games.
- Trevor van Riemsdyk had an assist and now has three assists in four games since returning from a lower-body injury on Nov. 18.
- Matthew Phillips logged 12:19 minutes in his return to the lineup and had a couple of strong standout plays as he looked to make a strong impression.
- Darcy Kuemper had a strong outing despite the loss, stopping 21 of 23 shots (.913 save percentage)