Capitals defeat Sharks for fourth straight win
The Washington Capitals have won four games in a row and started their three-game California road stretch on the right note with a 5-2 win in San Jose.
Jakub Vrana and Garnet Hathaway had two goals while John Carlson had three points and the Washington Capitals took care of a tough Western Conference foe. Their win improves their record to 20-4-5 with 45 points, tied with the Boston Bruins for the top record in the NHL.
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Melker Karlsson at 2:33. The Caps would tie it thanks to Hathaway deflecting in a shot from Carlson at 13:31. Nic Dowd had the secondary assist.
53 seconds later, Vrana took a pass in front of the net from Carlson, missed the first try off the cross bar but rebounded it in. T.J. Oshie had the secondary.
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Carlson broke through to complete a three goal surge in the span of 3:01. It came on a cross-ice pass from Michal Kempny and a shot from downtown to make it 3-1. That would be the score after the first period. The Caps had the edge in shots 13-10.
“It’s tough to be as complete as we were out there,” Carlson told NHL.com after the game.
"“We talked about getting a good start especially after having several days off. We had a good game plan, and it’s always nice to see the puck go in, but whoever is scoring, it’s good for me.”"
At 2:31 in the second the Caps added to their lead with Hathaway’s second goal of the game. Dowd forced a turnover, got the puck to Hathaway and he followed his own shot for his second goal of the night and fourth of the season.
Capitals coach Todd Reirden was happy to see Hathaway get rewarded with a two-goal game:
"“I’m happy to see those guys get rewarded. They really set the tone for our team, and everyone just kind of hops on board with their work ethic and compete, and we build from there.”"
Vrana scored his second of the game off a one-timer blast in front of the net off a pass from Lars Eller. Dmitry Orlov had the secondary. 5-1 was the score after 40 with the Caps outshooting the Sharks 10-7 in the second period.
The Sharks got one back in the third on a goal from Evander Kane at 13:07 but it wasn’t enough as the Caps hung on for a 5-2 win. The Sharks outshot the Caps 8-5 in the final period but Washington finished on top overall 28-25. Braden Holtby made 23 saves for a .920 save percentage.
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The Caps will take on the Los Angeles Kings tonight with puck drop at 10 p.m.