SAN JOSE -- The Sharks looked to start December the same way they ended their bounce-back November. Unfortunately for San Jose, the visiting Washington Capitals weren't about to let that happen Tuesday night at SAP Center.
Team Teal started off strong against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, but the Sharks quickly lost control in the first period and subsequently fell 5-2.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's loss.
Too many mistakes
To be fair, the Sharks started strong Tuesday, pushing the Capitals to the outside of the ice and not giving them much room to work with. But Washington proved to be very good at making San Jose pay for making little mistakes, and the Capitals turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead in a three-minute span.
The Sharks' most obvious struggles of the night were their puck-management miscues, which also plagued them in the first period of Saturday's win over the Arizona Coyotes. San Jose, unable to clean up those mistakes Tuesday, couldn't repeat Saturday's performance.
Not Martin Jones' night
Sports
Tuesday's performance was understandably a disappointing one to see from goaltender Martin Jones. In addition to coming off of back-to-back wins that made him one of the league's Stars of the Week, he entered Tuesday's contest with a 5-3-0 career record, two shutouts and a .917 save percentage against the Capitals.
It isn't fair to put all of the blame on Jones, given that the team in front of him stumbled. Plus, it looked a lot like there was a stick in his face on the first goal he allowed. But coach Peter DeBoer has often talked about getting a big performance from the goalie when the team in front of them struggles.
Giving up five goals in 40 minutes, as Jones did Tuesday, isn't exactly ideal.
[RELATED: Sharks GM Wilson defends signing Karlsson to giant contract]
Level of concern?
As disappointed as they'll be in the loss, the Sharks have shown lately that they have the ability to rebound from tough games and right the ship. Heck, they briefly showed signs of life on Evander Kane's third-period goal.
However, the Sharks' upcoming schedule really is going to test them. They will next go on a four-game road trip that includes another stint of three games in four nights and visits with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
Rebounding from Tuesday's loss in the same way they recovered from a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets last week will go a long way. But the Sharks can't afford to keep playing as they did against the Capitals if they want to stay competitive in the competitive Pacific Division.
