- The Washington Times - Sunday, February 12, 2023

As Evgeny Kuznetsov came racing down to make a move in front of the net, the Washington Capitals center collided with Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen but still managed to put the puck in for a goal. With Washington celebrating, Kankonen remained down in pain — leading San Jose to replace him with backup Aaron Dell.

The goaltender swap, though, didn’t make much of a difference for the Capitals. Outside of Kuznetsov’s goal, they still couldn’t generate enough offense.

The Capitals suffered a 4-1 defeat Sunday to the lowly San Jose Sharks, one of the NHL’s worst teams. The loss was a disappointing turn for Washington — another letdown after the team had enjoyed a high point less than 24 hours earlier.

The Capitals entered Sunday’s matinee coming off one of their best wins of the season. A day prior, Washington pulled off a 2-1 upset over the red-hot Boston Bruins — who not only held the league’s top record, but also were 22-1-3 at home before the game. Washington’s win marked just Boston’s second regulation loss of the season at TD Garden.

But against the Sharks, the Capitals registered just 21 shots on goal — tied for their third-fewest of the season.

The loss fits the pattern of how Washington’s season has gone. Before the 10-day pause because of the All-Star break and bye week, the Capitals (28-21-6, 62 points) finished an inconsistent January unable to string consecutive victories together. The month squandered a promising December in which the Capitals won 11 of 15.

“We weren’t ready,” Capitals winger Conor Sheary said. “We didn’t play hard. We didn’t do a lot of things right. It’s unfortunate we lost this one.”

Saturday’s win over Boston, too, was the right start to a crucial stretch for Washington — which is attempting to fend off several teams on its heels for one of the league’s wild-card spots and rediscover a winning form after a bumpy January. In the next week, the Capitals are set to play the Metropolitan division-leading Carolina Hurricanes twice with the Florida Panthers — the NHL team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year — sandwiched between. The Panthers trail the Capitals by just a few points.

But before then, Washington had to face the rebuilding Sharks. And initially, the Capitals didn’t appear to come in with the intensity that helped them knock off the Bruins.

San Jose got on the board with a goal nearly three minutes in when winger Evgeny Svechnikov snuck one past goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Lindgren — Washington’s capable backup who has impressed this season with a .907 save percentage entering the afternoon. He got the start after Darcy Kuemper played in Boston.

Of Lindgren’s three goals allowed — San Jose’s fourth was an empty netter — he especially took issue with the first one, telling reporters it put his team in “catch-up mode” for the afternoon.

“It’s really disappointing,” Lindgren said.

Coach Peter Laviolette said while Lindgren wanted the goal back, there were other problems. Specifically, Washington’s offense was again lackluster. The Capitals haven’t scored more than two goals in nine of their last 15 outings. Sheary and Laviolette both pinpointed the reason: the Capitals are settling for an “east-west” game rather than pushing the pace vertically to the net.

Against the Sharks, the Capitals had their opportunities to answer San Jose’s scores but didn’t take advantage. The Capitals were on the power play three times, but managed only two shots on goal.

The lackadaisical approach continued for long stretches. The Capitals, for example, didn’t register their first shot on goal of the period until almost nine minutes in. But a minute after defenseman Trevor Van Riemsdyk’s wrist shot was saved by Kahkonen, the Sharks scored again: Winger Alexander Barabanov pounced off a redirect in the front to put San Jose ahead, 2-0.

That goal seemed to briefly wake Washington up. Laviolette started to reconfigure Washington’s lines, searching for a lineup that would help generate offense. And then, with 3:04 left in the period,  Kuznetsov provided the spark his team desperately needed. He used his speed to crash the net and sneak one around Kahkonen, giving the center his second goal in the last three games.

Though a banged-up Kahkonen was initially cleared to play, he was pulled at the next stoppage.

After Kuznetsov’s goal and Dell’s insertion into the lineup, Kuznetsov would soon head to the locker room as Sharks captain Logan Couture slammed the Russian into the boards so hard that the 30-year-old gingerly held his arm while skating off.

Kuznetsov, fortunately for the Capitals, returned in the third period.

Washington’s offense, though, did not.

San Jose bolstered its lead by another two goals when defenseman Erik Karlsson scored one from near the blue line with 7:05 left and with an empty-netter late.

“We just weren’t good enough to win a game,” Laviolette said.

• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.

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