SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks have played dozens of close games this season, an example, it seems, of how much more competitive they’ve been compared to last year.
Every so often, though, the Sharks will receive a reminder of how much further they still have to go.
It happened Saturday, as the Sharks were dominated in the first period and never recovered in a sometimes feisty 5-1 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals before a sold-out SAP Center crowd.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 34th goal of the season, and the 887th of his illustrious career, at the 10:54 mark of the third period to complete the scoring. Macklin Celebrini scored his 21st of the season in the third period for the Sharks, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Ovechkin needs seven more goals to tie Wayne Gretzky atop the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list.
“He’s obviously incredible, one of the best to ever do it,” Sharks winger Tyler Toffoli said of the 39-year-old Ovechkin. “He’s not far off from breaking that record.”
The Sharks were outshot 17-3 by the Capitals, the NHL’s top-scoring team, in the first period. In the opening 18:55, they allowed goals to Dylan Strome, Aliaksei Protas, and Taylor Raddysh.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky responded by replacing goalie Alexandar Georgiev with rookie Georgi Romanov for the final two periods. However, that was more a message from Warsofsky to his skaters than a reflection of his dissatisfaction with Georgiev, who made 14 saves.
“I just think we did it ourselves,” Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais said. “Yes, they’re a great team. They’re well structured, but we can’t have a first 20 minutes like that. We know that they have a good team.
“We’ve got to be sharp, and we had too many turnovers, too many plays where we were not focused.”
Romanov, in his third career NHL game, made 10 saves for the Sharks, who were coming off a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. San Jose’s next game is Thursday at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
With his team down 3-0, new Sharks forward Zack Ostapchuk, at the 14:56 mark of the second period, got into a scrap with Capitals forward Tom Wilson, one of the better fighters in the NHL who filled in the rookie.
Just 41 seconds later, Noah Gregor, who, along with Ostapchuk, was acquired from the Ottawa Senators on March 7, fought Capitals winger Brandon Duhaime. Later in the period, after Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois knocked down Will Smith, Mario Ferraro tried to challenge Dubois and took a roughing minor.
The Sharks entered Saturday in 32nd and last place in the NHL, but have played 33 one-goal games this season and 15 two-goal games. But they’ve often struggled against the league’s elite, with blowout losses to the Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers.
