Ailing Caps Meet NHL's Best in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Nov. 21 -- After watching the Washington Capitals slog through Thursday's 5-2 defeat in Los Angeles, Coach Bruce Boudreau canceled Friday's practice in the hopes his players will return to the rink refreshed, refocused and ready to face their biggest challenge of the season.

The San Jose Sharks are 16-3-1, have accumulated an NHL-best 33 points and rank in the top five in several key statistical categories, including goals per game (3.55), goals against (2.45), shots per game (37.9) and shots against (26.0). The Capitals also will be up against history: They've dropped their past 10 meetings with the Sharks, a drought that stretches from 1999, and have not won in San Jose since 1993.

Boudreau said his players are eager to measure themselves against the league's top team and put Thursday's disappointing showing -- they recorded a season-low 21 shots on goal against the Kings -- behind them. But it remains to be seen how accurate the measurement will be, given the uncertain status of injured stars Mike Green, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin. The trio has accounted for 24 of the Capitals' 64 goals, a whopping 37.5 percent.

"You try not to think about it, but those are three pretty good players," Boudreau said. "There's very few teams in the league that can withstand losing three top-notch players and still be as good consistently. That being said, we're trying to put it behind us. And we don't think about it. If they're not there, they're not there."

Green (bruised shoulder) and Fedorov (sprained ankle) are possibilities, while Semin (upper back strain) is doubtful.

Green is feeling "a lot better," Boudreau said, one day after the team learned that he did not suffer any structural damage to his right shoulder. The team had feared the worst after he was crushed by hulking Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger on Wednesday. But an MRI exam performed on Thursday came back negative.

"I'm not ruling him out of anything," Boudreau said of Green's availability. "At the same time, we're going to make sure he's ready to play before we put him back in."

Fedorov has missed seven straight games, but he participated fully during the pregame skate prior to the Kings game and put in some additional work after all the other players had left the ice. He didn't want to commit to a return date, though he is hopeful that he'll play in one of the Capitals' next two games.

Semin's injury, meantime, will likely sideline the team's leading scorer (13 goals, 27 points) for a fourth consecutive game.

Brent Johnson, who was outstanding in Los Angeles, save for a mistake on the Kings' second goal, should get his second straight start based on that performance and his career record against San Jose.

Johnson is 7-1-1 all time with a .928 save percentage and 1.54 goals against average all-time against the Sharks, and probably will have to stop a lot of rubber Saturday to improve upon those numbers.

San Jose, which will debut its new black alternate uniform, ranks third in goals per game, has three lines that can score and a trio of forwards with 20 or more points (Devin Setoguchi, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton).

The Sharks also will get goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, a two time all-star, back from a six-game absence because of a lower body injury, though he's not expected to start.

"Sometimes a new coach brings new blood, and they are really responding to [first-year coach] Todd McLellan," Boudreau said. "The addition of [puck-moving defenseman] Dan Boyle has been huge. You take those things, and a reenergized Patrick Marleau to go along with Joe Thornton, and you're going to be pretty good."

Capitals Notes: The Capitals (7-0-1) and Sharks (10-0-1) are the only teams without a regulation loss at home. The Sharks are one of three teams Alex Ovechkin has never scored against (Los Angeles and Minnesota are the others). Ovechkin has at least one point in six straight games and entered last night tied for seventh in scoring (23 points) after getting off to a slow start.