The Washington Capitals defeated the San Jose Sharks by a final of 5-1 to end their California road trip taking two out of three games bouncing back from a 3-0 shutout loss to the Los Angeles Kings two nights prior. Alex Ovechkin put a stamp on it for career goal number 887.
A near Logan Thompson shutout and quick early goals would sink the Sharks
Dylan Strome got things started with his 21st goal of the season at 7:33. Ovechkin and Tom Wilson had the helpers with their 21st and 26th, respectively. Aliaksei Protas doubled the lead with a backhander for his 29th goal of the season at 17:26. Lars Eller notched his 10th assist while Tom Wilson had his 27th.
At 18:55, Taylor Raddysh made it 3-0 with his seventh goal of the season. John Carlson had the assist for his 40th on the season while Pierre-Luc Dubois had his 41st. The Caps led 3-0 after 20 and in shots 17-3.
In the second period nobody scored as the Sharks led in shots 7-5. Macklin Celebrini would end Logan Thompson's shutout bid at 6:19 but other than that Thompson was brilliant as he finished the afternoon with a .950 save percentage.
At 6:59 Trevor van Riemsdyk would crash the net and respond for his first goal of the season. Eller notched his 11th assist on the year while Andrew Mangiapane picked up his 12th.
Then it was who else but Ovechkin to make it 5-1 on a tip in at 10:54 for his 34th of the season and 887th of his career to bring him nine closer to passing Wayne Gretzky.
Martin Fehervary had his 15th assist on the year while PLD added his 42nd. Caps were outshot 10-6 in the third but had the edge in shots 28-20 overall.
The Caps had the edge in face off percentage at 53.1 percent to 46.9 percent. Penalty minutes were even at 16 apiece with some scraps going on involving Tom Wilson and Brandon Duhaime, both players won the bout.
With the win, Washington improves their record to 44-15-8 which is good for 96 points. That's tied with the Winnipeg Jets for first in the NHL. Next up for Washington is a trip back to the east coast.
On Tuesday night they'll take on the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. on Monumental Sports Network. You can also listen to the game on 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7.