BOX SCORE
SAN JOSEWashington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin has a knack for changing games with his unique combination of skill, physicality and goal-scoring prowess.It was an undisciplined penalty in the third period, though, which essentially sealed the fate of his team and helped the San Jose Sharks to their fourth straight win, 5-2 at HP Pavilion on Saturday night.
Patrick Marleaus goal at the one-minute mark of the third period gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead, which is where the game stood six and a half minutes later when Brad Winchester ran over Alex Semin with what appeared to be a clean hit. The referees considered it a charge, though, and the Capitals were about to head to the power play where they had scored once already.Ovechkin immediately jumped Winchester from behind earning a roughing call, though, making it a four-on-four situation. Marc-Edouard Vlasics goal at 8:51 gave the Sharks a two-goal cushion, and Washington never recovered.I came down the wall and finished a check, and I think Ovechkin was just coming in and trying to stand up for a teammate, Winchester said. You have to respect that.The Capitals actually entered the game with the most four-on-four goals in the NHL (nine), but the Ovechkin-for-Winchester tradeoff certainly favored the Sharks. The goal came when Vlasic managed to nicely corral a pass from Ryane Clowe with his skate while cutting towards the net between the circles. Tomas Vokoun stopped Vlasics first shot, but the Sharks defenseman stayed with it and managed to flip it over the fallen goaltender.Vlasic, who finished with game high 3 rating (tied with his partner, Dan Boyle), called it one of the more skillful goals of his career.Id have to put it at the top. Knocking it down with the foot is the highlight right there, he said.The Sharks improved to 8-1-3 in their last 12 games, and ended Washingtons four-game winning streak. Speaking of streaks, the Capitals run of futility at HP Pavilion now stands at 12 games (0-11-1), as they havent won here since 1993.Just 16 seconds after Washingtons Joel Ward tied the game early in the third period, Marleau slam-dunked a gorgeous backhanded pass through the slot from Joe Thornton past Vokoun at the one-minute mark of the third period to give the Sharks their lead back. San Jose had led 1-0 and 2-1 earlier before the Capitals responded both times.Todd McLellan liked his teams resolve to continually battle back, even after Brent Burns power goal with 8.2 seconds left in the second period was quickly answered after the intermission.Theres always talk about scoring at the end of the period. It should give you some momentum, but we gave it right back to them, McLellan said. I thought our leaders, and the guys we count on, went out the next shift and bang, got it right back. We felt pretty good about that, and then stuck with the game plan.Marleau finished with three points (1g, 2a), increasing his point streak to five games, while Dan Boyle had three assists.After a scoreless first, Jason Demers put the Sharks on the board with a fortunate bounce. Demers slap shot deflected off of the back boards and hit Vokouns left skate before trickling across the goal line at 5:15.I kind of want to say I was trying to do that, but I was trying to get it on net, joked Demers.It didnt take very long for the Capitals to tie it up, though. Winchester was whistled for goaltender interference, and a pretty passing play by Washington resulted in Dennis Wideman depositing a pass from behind the net by Troy Brouwer at 6:37.Burns goal came on a point shot with Vokoun likely screened by Capitals defenseman John Carlson.It was tight defensively in the first, and just kind of opened up all of a sudden, said Demers of the second period. We didnt really want to get into that game in the second, but it kind of just happened. We were trading chances, something we didnt really want to do, but we came out in favor with a 2-1 lead.There werent any goals in the first period, but there was still a good pace and some hard hitting between teams that rarely face each other. Douglas Murray, who appears to be rounding into form after missing 10 straight games with a hand injury in December, leveled both Jeff Halpern and Jason Chimera before the first 20 minutes were over.We dont see the Eastern teams as much, but right away in the first period it was a tight checking game, Winchester said. There wasnt a lot of room. It opened up as the game went on, but it was a fast, physical game.It was also just the fifth time in franchise history that the Sharks got three goals from defensemen.It started the other night against Columbus. We got a lot of pucks to the net and it carried on again tonight, McLellan said. Early in the game they did a really good job of pressuring us and not allowing us many plays, but I thought as the game wore on we stuck with it, and our D did a good job of getting pucks there.There was a big hit of another kind in the second period, and the Sharks were lucky to come away unscathed when Thornton and Joe Pavelski both converged on a loose puck in the neutral zone and violently collided.RELATED: Pavelski, Thornton collide in Sharks' win
Antti Niemi finished with 28 saves in recording his 18th win, after a rare night off in Thursdays 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets.Capitals defenseman Mike Green, who has battled groin problems, left in the second period and did not return, possibly the result of a hard hit from Andrew Desjardins.The Sharks begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday in Minnesota, and play 17 of their next 23 games overall on the road.Odds and ends: Alex Ovechkin finished with a game-worst -3 rating.The last time three Sharks defensemen scored in a single game was Nov. 1, 2009 at Carolina (Kent Huskins, Douglas Murray, Marc-Edouard Vlasic).Torrey Mitchells empty-net goal capped the scoring. He assisted on Demers goal for a two-point night after being a healthy scratch on Thursday against Columbus.The Sharks are 14-7-2 at home.Dan Boyle recorded his first three-point night of the season.
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