POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Sharks 4, Caps 1

Hard Luck Blues - Wednesday night's game against the San Jose Sharks was the rubber match of Washington's three-game homestand, and the Caps came out on the short end of a 4-1 decision, another game in which they weren't able to get enough rubber past the opposing netminder.

San Jose goaltender James Reimer came into the contest cold, sporting some ugly qualitative numbers for the month of January. He had fashioned a 7.24 GAA and an .832 save pct. over four January appearances, and he played a full 60 minutes in only one of those four games.
The Caps started slowly, a cardinal sin for a team that's been scuffling to score goals. In the words of center Lars Eller, the Caps "have to work really hard for our goals right now." But the Caps waded into this one, and by the time they warmed to the task, they were down 1-0 and getting outshot 12-2 by a San Jose team that entered the game with losses in four of its previous five games.
Rather than peppering Reimer with rubber early, the Caps allowed him to get comfortable and to gain confidence, and he rode that to victory, yielding only a Daniel Sprong goal at the 14-second mark of the third period, a tally that trimmed San Jose's lead to 2-1 at that juncture of the contest.
"For me, the start didn't start the way we wanted, and then you're chasing the game again," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "And it gets more difficult when you're chasing the game.
"There's no excuse for that. I just thought that they were quicker, they were more battle ready. We've got to be more prepared than that at the start of the game."
Washington recently suffered a 4-3 loss to Boston immediately following the Bruins' ugly 7-1 loss to Carolina on home ice, and Wednesday's loss to San Jose contained similar notes. The Sharks came into Wednesday's game on the heels of a 7-1 home ice loss to Tampa Bay in their most recent game action.
"I don't know if I would say it's the biggest of the year, but it was definitely a response game," says Sharks coach Bob Boughner. "I think you saw the things that we didn't do against Tampa - the desperation, the urgency, some depth scoring, the blocking of the shots and just sacrificing for each other. That's what we stressed the last couple of days - showing up, responding and picking himself up off the floor."
Reimer yielded four goals on just 13 shots in 12-plus minutes of work in the loss to the Lightning, but he was sharp against the Caps. He stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced on the evening.
"For Reims, it was one of his better games all year," adds Boughner. "He was our first star. I thought he played so well, and he faced a lot of chances in the third period. But I liked the way we played. We knew they were going to push. Our penalty kill was huge tonight for us, and Reims - your best penalty killer is you goalie."
Sprongtime - Last season, Sprong showed a knack for scoring in his first game back in the lineup after a brief absence. Drawing back into the Washington lineup after a three-game absence, he accounted for all the Caps' offense in Wednesday's game, scoring three seconds after Nicklas Backstrom won an offensive zone draw. Sprong's shot beat Reimer high to the stick side, ending a goalless drought of 100 minutes and 14 seconds in duration for Washington.
The goal was Sprong's seventh of the season, tied for sixth on the team. Since joining the Caps last season, Sprong has scored 20 goals, also ranking sixth on the team in that span. Sprong has scored those 20 goals in 77 games with Washington; he had 19 goals in a combined total of 97 games with previous employers Pittsburgh and Anaheim.
All 20 of Sprong's goals with the Caps have been scored at even strength, and he is one of only three players in the NHL to score 20 or more goals since the start of last season without scoring on the power play over that span. Nashville's Luke Kunin and the Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere have also achieved the feat.
Can't Go Home - For the first time in just over three years, the Caps have been limited to one or fewer goals in consecutive home games. The last time they suffered that ignominy was a three-game run on Jan. 12-14 and Jan. 18 of 2019, in the midst of a seven-game slide (0-5-2), their longest losing streak in the last decade-plus.
The Caps dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Columbus in Washington on Jan. 12, 2019 in the first of those seven straight setbacks. Two nights later, they lost 4-1 to St. Louis on home ice. After absorbing a 7-2 beating in Nashville on Jan. 15, the Caps returned home where they were blanked by the New York Islanders, 2-0.
By The Numbers - John Carlson led the Caps with 24:44 in ice time … Alex Ovechkin led the Caps with eight shots on net and 15 shot attempts … Garnet Hathaway led the Caps with eight hits and with three blocked shots.