This past weekend, Washington took a trip west to visit the San Jose Sharks and LA Kings in California. The Caps entered the trip on a four-game win streak, but ended up coming home with two 5-2 losses under their belts.
Before they face the Penguins tonight, here’s a brief look, with photos, from their trip to the other coast.
In San Jose, the dreaded streak goes on. The Caps are still winless at HP Pavilion since 1993. Now there’s a rough stat for two teams that seem so similar. (all photos by Alena Schwarz)
After being tied for the majority of the first two periods, the Caps scored 44 seconds into the third to tie the game at two. However, the Sharks scored 16 seconds later and just took off from there, eventually handing the Caps a 5-2 loss.
But the Sharks weren’t the only things the Caps had trouble mastering while in San Jose. The team had significant troubles getting on and off the ice at HP.
The team’s first practice, a couple players stumbled, but Jay Beagle wiped out stepping onto the ice. The team’s last practice, no one could seem to get through the door. Dennis Wideman wiped out and after body checking it open, Karl Alzner commented that the door was heavy.
“Everything about their rink is really different,” Alzner said. “The ice gets really heavy, there’s about a foot and a half to jump on the ice, that’s a little different, but those are little things. It’s not a real big deal. The frustrating thing is not winning here for the past 17 years or whatever, so that’s the really frustrating thing. But that’ll eventually change, I think.”
Also at practice, before departing to LA, Jason Chimera and John Erskine decided to give Mathieu Perreault a lesson in self defense.
But from there, the Caps’ woes grew. In LA, Washington got the first and the last goals in the game, but the five goals scored by the Kings overpowered the Caps’ offense.
Washington will look to break its streak against a downward spiraling Pittsburgh Penguins team that has lost its last five games. Something’s got to give tonight, so let’s all hope it’s the Pens giving up more goals than the Caps do.
