Jose Theodore’s third period heroics couldn’t help his offense get the goal to put
away the Blues last night. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Blues 4, Capitals 3 (SO): In every game, there is a moment when you know the momentum is about to shift. Last night in St. Louis, this moment came with 12:08 remaining in the third period. At that point, the Caps found themselves on the wrong end of a two-man advantage after a couple of ticky-tack penalties. If the Blues score, the game becomes a real challenge. If Washington pulls up the straps, digs in, and manages to wade out the penalties, they likely have the rest of the game in their hands. With nine seconds left in the two-man advantage, Jose Theodore made sure that the momentum was with the Caps to stay. Making an absolutely awesome glove save from the seat of his pants — the best of his 33 saves — Theodore and the Caps dried out the rest of the Blues power play, getting the boost.

Of course, there’s the task of actually using that momentum to finish things off.

Despite Theodore’s big stop and plenty of chances, the Caps couldn’t score the decisive goal in the third period, in overtime or in the shootout, and dropped their third straight road game heading into the two-week Olympic break. David Perron put the decisive marker in on the fourth round of the shootout, while Alexander Semin, Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Brendan Morrison couldn’t beat St. Louis goaltender Chris Mason in the one-on-one. Even after the big penalty kill, the game was still a relatively even affair. The Caps answered back from three deficits in the first two periods behind Mike Knuble and Alex Semin, the former scoring twice and the latter ripping another wicked wrist shot past Mason. There was also the little matter of Cam Janssen’s filthy shoulder, which he rammed into the head of Matt Bradley in the first. Bradley didn’t return and neither did Janssen, who was ejected; we’ll be looking forward to the suspension the league will hand down on that one.

It’s hardly optimal to be going into such a big break on a three-game losing streak, the Caps can at least enjoy looking at the standings every day and seeing a 90 in the points column.