The San Jose Sharks played the Washington Capitals for the second time in two weeks to see the Sharks win again, this time at home, with the final score of 3-2 Sharks.I admit, it was a little difficult going to a hockey game to watch both my favorite and second favorite teams play. To ensure my San Jose Sharks would get the win, I wore my black Sharks jersey over my red Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals shirt to symbolize “the Sharks over the Capitals”. Surely, that became the case after a very hard-fought game in San Jose.
As these two teams possess the two most powerful offensive threats in the NHL, many fans saw this to be a very close game, even considering the Sharks 2-0 win in Washington less than two weeks ago.
Rarely do the east coast teams play the west coast teams in the NHL, and the Capitals playing the Sharks is no exception. The two teams have played eleven times in San Jose since 1993, and the Capitals have lost ten times and tied once since then. With this game, the Capitals had hoped to change their unfortunate historical record in San Jose, especially with their currently strong lineup.
The Sharks, however, maintained their winning streak at home against the Capitals with a close one-goal game.
Both teams emerged powerfully from the onset, trading shots on net, and maintaining similar amounts of puck control. The vivacious crowd could be heard jeering the Capitals’ superstar forward Alexander Ovechkin every time he touched the puck in order to throw him off his game, and in turn, loudly cheering on the Sharks every time they brilliantly handled the puck. Late into the first period, a penalty on Sharks forward Ben Eager set some events in motion. In what had been seen as, quite literally, a game-changing moment, the Capitals fouled up on their power play, allowing Sharks forward Patrick Marleau to pick up the puck and feed it to Joe Pavelski to put the Sharks up 1-0 with a shorthanded goal.
The Capitals, still on their power play, answered right back with a goal by Alex Ovechkin with a well-placed wrist shot from the point to tie the game back at 1-1.
After the first period, the Capitals outshot the Sharks 9-6, although each team had equally close opportunities to score. While the second period remained scoreless and without penalties, the third period would define the final outcome of the game.
During the third period, the Sharks scored twice, once by Ryane Clowe, beautifully set up by newcomer Kyle Wellwood, and the other by Dany Heatley (on a goal that took a while to review as it had been released directly toward the net by Dan Boyle, although the final call had his shot being tipped by Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, and Dany Heatley on its way to the net).
Within two minutes left in the game, Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom scored to bring the tally to 3-2 Sharks, although the Capitals failed to strike again before the end of the game.
The crowd cheering with their exuberant support, the Sharks emerged victorious.
Despite the win, keeping the Sharks within place of the Western Conference standings, the playoff race is still incredibly close, and even a simple loss or two could still place the Sharks below the eighth place lower bracket.
Catch the Sharks this Saturday as they play the Colorado Avalanche at the Shark Tank!
