The Washington Capitals got off to a pretty poor start tonight as they fell behind 3-0 in the first period courtesy of goals from, surprisingly, Matt Irwin and John Scott.
“The first period I didn’t like at all,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz remarked, per the Monumental Network. “I just didn’t like our commitment. We were a pass-first team in a shoot-first league in the first period. You’re not going to give a team like the Sharks a three-goal lead and expect to come back.”
Except, the Capitals did come back -- well almost. They erased 3-0 and 4-1 deficits, but ultimately suffered a 6-5 shootout loss to the Sharks.
Alex Ovechkin played a big part in the Capitals’ rally, scoring two goals and registering an assist. His second marker of the night kept the Capitals in this game at a time when it looked like Washington’s fate was all-but sealed:
Ovechkin already has four goals and five points in three games this season. Troy Brouwer added his first goal of the season just 1:16 minutes later to tie the contest:
It took a shootout goal from Joe Pavelski to prevent San Jose from completely collapsing tonight. So in the end, the Sharks are still 3-0-0 in 2014-15, but Washington certainly worked hard for that point.