For the first time in 6 games, the Caps looked like a cohesive unit. For the first time in 6 games they looked dominant and defensively sound for a full 60 minutes. For the first time in 6 games they got a lead and held onto it.

And for their efforts, they got their first win against the Sharks in almost 10 years.

Some quick thoughts as we put this one in the books, with more on the numbers later:

- It’s hard to remember the last time Alexander Semin had as good a period as that first period last night. He was skating hard and drew three penalties as a result; he had five shots on goal and was rewarded with the game’s first marker. Just an all-around great effort by #28, in the first period and the whole game.

- Ovechkin finally snaps that goalless drought against the Sharks. It took him three whole games, what a slacker…

- Slightly troubling that the Caps had almost nine minutes on the power play, all in the first, and still only managed to come away with a 1-1 tie after one – particularly considering the extended amount of that time which came 5-on-3. Still, the Sharks seemed to be adept at getting in the lanes and blocking shots, and when they didn’t they had Nabokov to bail them out.

- How about Ovechkin’s second goal, which came as a result of a Mike Knuble shot with Ovie cleaning up the garbage? Must be opposite day or something. I’ll take it.

- 2 assists, 16:00 of ice time, +2, 3 shots, a hit and 3 takeaways – Mike Knuble, ladies and gentlemen.

- Hard to tell from where I was sitting, but it seems like Eric Fehr should have beaten Benn Ferriero to the net on the Sharks’ goal. Considering this is only his third game of the year and he didn’t have a preseason, however, we can forgive him a little rust before throwing him under the bus the way we do.

- A quiet night for Schultz, who was a +1 and had a *gasp* hit (and it was a real hit, I saw it, I commented on it, I laughed) – a quiet night but a good night. Positionally sound, working the corners well…take that, haters.

- Steckel’s had a bit of a rough start to the season, but last night he seemed to be having a much better game – or at the very least, a much more determined effort – as a fourth line center. And as long as he keeps putting up faceoff percentages in the 70s, he’s welcome to stick around.

- Only three penalties all night, one of the overly aggressive kind (Jurcina kneed someone?), one of the defensive kind (Morrisonn’s holding penalty) and one of the “make CC’s head explode with the stupidity of the penalty itself” kind (Mo again, with the puck over the glass). No lazy tripping calls, no lazy hooking infractions…yay.

- That is, of course, in stark contrast to the penalties called in the first on San Jose – loads of penalties taken out of a lack of ability to keep up with the Caps. And by the Caps, I mean Alexander Semin.

- There are three guys now tied for fourth on the team in goal-scoring with two: Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Knuble…and Matt Bradley. Incidentally, Matt Bradley didn’t have his second goal until November 19 last season; he now has two in his last three games.

- A lot has been said recently about secondary scoring (or lack thereof) for the Caps – and yes, they eventually need to get some third- and fourth-liners not named Bradley scoring. At the same time, however, they’ve had insane production from the top two lines and no one seems to be able to shut both down.

- In the same vein, discovering that Morrison and Knuble work well with Ovechkin gives Boudreau a tremendous amount of flexibility. If the Care Bear line returns you basically have three of the best players in the league on one line, followed by a near-elite playmaker and two grinders who will outwork you every shift on the second. If we go with what showed up last night, you put THE best player in the world with two very talented workhorses and there’s a second line right behind them that has Semin’s skill, Backstrom’s vision and Laich’s work ethic. In other words, depth. Lovely.

- Losing Theodore was a huge loss for this team, because he was playing great in both the first period and in the season overall. Hopefully he’s back sooner rather than later, although Varlamov was great in relief (minus a few questionable rebounds, of course).

A big two points, a big ending to that troubling losing streak, and a fresh start as the Caps get ready to take on another Western Conference visitor tomorrow night.