What we learned as Yaroslav Askarov struggles in Sharks’ blowout loss to Caps originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN JOSE – So much for keeping the momentum at the Tank going.
Riding a three-game winning streak at home, the Sharks ran into the buzzsaw that is NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
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Nearing the end of his incredible hockey career, Ovechkin – a 12-time NHL All-Star – scored a pair of goals, one during a wild second period that seemed to take the life out of San Jose fans.
The Sharks never recovered and came up on the very short end of a 7-1 loss on Wednesday at SAP Center.
Ovechkin scored his 910th career goal midway through the first period when he got free in front of the Sharks’ net and scored an unassisted goal. His second came on a cross pass in front of the net from Ryan Leonard, less than three minutes into the second period.
Sonny Milano’s fourth goal of the season, a shot from the left circle, gave the Caps a 2-0 lead.
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Ryan Leonard scored three and a half minutes later off a deflection by rookie goalie Yaroslav Askarov before Brandon Duhaime made it 4-0 with a shorthanded goal at the 17:07 mark.
It was San Jose’s biggest deficit at the end of a first period at home since Edmonton had the Sharks on the ropes 4-0 at the end of one on Dec. 28, 2023.
San Jose eventually pulled Askarov but Washington also got to Alex Nedeljkovic for two goals in the second period and one in the third.
It was one of San Jose’s most lopsided losses of the season, dropping the Sharks to 13-12-3 and in seventh place in the West.
The Caps, on the other hand, have won four consecutive on the road and lead the Eastern Conference with 36 points.
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Earlier in the day, the Sharks announced they sent rookie center Michael Misa to the team’s top minor league affiliate to begin conditioning. The No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft, Misa sustained a lower-body injury during a morning skate on Nov. 5.
Here are the takeaways from Wednesday:
Caps blitz Askarov early
Askarov had been on a roll, enjoying a month’s worth of solid work in the net.
All the momentum and good vibes he carried into the night disappeared in the span of 11 minutes in the first period when the Caps turned a scoreless contest into a one-sided runaway.
To be fair, the struggles to prevent Washington’s offense from getting loose weren’t just on Askarov’s shoulders. As a team, the Sharks repeatedly allowed the Caps to get deep into the zone for second and third shots off the same play.
Additionally, there’s no shame in getting beaten for a goal by Ovechkin. He’s the best to ever do it and had scored against Askarov previously.
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Good luck and good riddance
Though there has been no official announcement, Wednesday’s game might have been Ovechkin’s final appearance in San Jose.
The 40-year future Hall of Famer has been a pain in the Sharks’ fins for years before adding yet another chapter to his masterpiece of a career.
Ovechkin had burned the Sharks for 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points in 29 games, and then gave San Jose a memorable, albeit painful, goodbye.
Early flurry for nothing
The Sharks came out much more aggressively than they had begun their previous two games at the Tank and had eight shots in the first eight minutes and finished the period with 11, but had nothing to show for it.
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Washington withstood the early flurry, then responded with their own, a much more efficient and productive attack on the other end of the ice in a matter of minutes that flipped the game on its head.
San Jose managed only seven shots in the second period and was on the verge of being shut out before Pavol Regenda broke up the shutout when he scored off an assist from Dmitry Orlov with 7:02 remaining in the third.
