Sharks Drop Caps, 4-1

It was bad enough that the Caps' lingering offensive woes continued on Wednesday night against San Jose in a 4-1 loss. But as they continue to struggle in their quest to find the back of the net, they saw the Sharks get goals from guys who hadn't been heard from in quite some time.

Nicolas Meloche's second-period goal - the first of his 21-game NHL career - stood up as the game winner for the Sharks, but all four goal scorers for San Jose ended dry spells at Washington's expense while the Caps were held to two or fewer tallies for the fifth time in nine games.
Wednesday night's loss was also the Capitals' second regulation setback in succession, marking the first time they've suffered that fate since last April 6-8.
San Jose got out of the gates quicker than the Caps and the Sharks struck first, taking a 1-0 lead just ahead of the midway mark of the first frame. From down low on the right side, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns pulled the puck from a tangle of feet, sticks and bodies in the slot. He whirled put a pass on the tape for Noah Gregor, who had an easy tap in from the top of the paint to give the visitors the lead.
Gregor's goal was his second in 27 games this season, and his first since Nov. 30, a span of 20 games.
The Caps began to generate some looks and chances of their own in the back half of the first -forcing Reimer to make key stops on Evgeny Kuznetsov and Michal Kempny in the middle of the period -- but they went into the second period down a goal.
It's one thing to casually wade through the first 10 minutes of a game when you're scoring goals and/or winning routinely, but the Caps don't have that luxury right now.
"I don't like the first half of the first period," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "We were outdone in too many areas, and that's not good. We can't accept that.
"For the last eight minutes [of the first] we got going a little bit. For me, the game was just okay. I think we're better than that."
Washington had the game's first two power play opportunities in the middle frame, but not until after the Sharks doubled their lead with an early goal.
Matt Nieto picked off a Washington pass in neutral ice, and started off in transition, gaining the Caps' zone on the left side. He issued a perfect feed for the late guy into the zone, Meloche. From the high slot, Meloche ripped a wrist shot past Ilya Samsonov for his first NHL goal and a 2-0 San Jose lead at 3:58 of the second.
Washington generated three shots on net during its four minutes of power play time in the second, but it had two excellent chances during its only penalty killing assignment of the night. Sharks goalie James Reimer stopped Tom Wilson's first bid, and Wilson's follow-up rolled just wide on the far side, late in the second period.
After the Sharks were guilty of icing the puck 11 seconds into the third period, the Caps broke a scoring dry spell of 100 minutes and 14 seconds in length. Nicklas Backstrom won a left dot draw in the Sharks' zone, pulling the puck to Daniel Sprong. The Washington winger patiently picked his spot and put it there, beating Reimer high to the short side just three seconds after the face-off, and 14 seconds into the third.
"It felt good to go in," says Sprong, who returned to the lineup after a three-game absence. "Nicky won a nice draw and [Conor Sheary] picked a guy, so I just had to make sure it went in short side, and it went in."
The Caps took some life from that goal, but some of their best looks missed the mark, and they didn't generate many rebound opportunities, nor have they done so routinely of late. When San Jose was guilty of delay of game with 6:41 remaining, Washington's beleaguered power play outfit took to the ice and tried to create the tying tally, to no avail. The Caps had some looks and they pumped four shots on Reimer, missing the net once and having another attempt blocked.
Samsonov made a couple key stops in the third to keep the deficit at a single goal, but Jonathan Dahlen struck with 3:09 left to give the Sharks some breathing room. For Dahlen - the son of ex-Caps winger Ulf Dahlen - the goal was his first since Dec. 9, ending a 14-game dry spell.
Veteran speed merchant Andrew Cogliano accounted for the 4-1 final with an empty-net goal in the final minute, his first goal since Dec. 16, a dry spell of a dozen games.
The loss leaves the Caps at 3-6-2 for the month of January, and they're now 3-6-1 in their last 10 at home, and they've won only half of their home games on the season (12-7-5).
"I feel like it's mostly puck luck," says Caps center Lars Eller of the Caps' recently dormant attack. "I think we're generating 10-plus good scoring chances every game. And right now it just feels like they're not going in. For whatever reason, we have to work really hard for our goals right now. It's not coming easy for us. And that's the biggest thing I've seen in the last handful of games."