Sorry for being brief, but I have some homework to do tonight for a non-hockey related story I am working on. Anyway, the Caps snapped a four-game losing streak (and the franchise's 11-game skid against San Jose) with an impressive 4-1 beating of the Sharks.

Here's a few notes and quotes from the evening:

* Jose Theodore left the game after the first period with back spasms and did not return. Semyon Varlamov played for the first time in nine days and went 15-for-15 to pick up the win (game was tied 1-1 when he entered). No timetable for Theodore yet.

Word on the street is we might see Stretch between the pipes for practice tomorrow.

* Alex Ovechkin scored two goals 28 seconds apart (fastest in his career). They were the first two goals he's scored against the Sharks, the only team he hadn't lit the lamp against in his career. He's only got five teams (Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton, Los Angeles and Minnesota) that he hasn't scored at least two goals against.

Ovechkin finished with 13 shots -- two off his career high and EIGHT more than San Jose's top line of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi.

* Alexander Semin had a first period to remember -- one goal, five shots and three penalties drawn.

* The Caps took only three penalties tonight -- one in each period. In games where the Caps don't take more than one penalty in any period, they are 2-0. In games that they do, they are 1-4.

* Mike Green had one assist, three shots, three hits and one ankle-breaking change of direction move in 27:59 of ice time tonight.

San Jose's Dan Boyle had one shot, one hit and no points in 27:!5 of ice time. He also had a bad giveaway, but it didn't end up costing the Sharks.

This is important because Hockey Canada's Kevin Lowe was in the building tonight. He was scouting players for the 2010 Olympics, and specifically was watching the two defensemen. Lowe told NHL.com's Dan Rosen they are similar players, but noted Boyle's edge in experience (he won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay and was on the 2006 team's taxi squad in Italy).

"You never know when they are going to be watching," Green said. "They could be watching on TV. I knew they were going to be watching and I knew somebody was here tonight, but I didn't know it was Kevin. Hopefully, he was impressed. That's all I can say."

"I am trying to play tough defense," Green said. "I thought [my performance] was good. I'm trying to play solid and a lot less risky, I guess. Obviously, it is not as much production but I'm trying to be better defensively and that's all that matters."

Check out nhl.com tomorrow for a story from Rosen about Lowe's scouting trip. Gotta run -- I have A LOT of reading to do tonight.

• 
• Comment