The Washington Capitals face a good early season test Tuesday night when Joel Ward and the San Jose Sharks come to town.  The Sharks (2-0-0) under new Head Coach Peter DaBoer, enter the game atop the Pacific Division standings.

Sharks
The Sharks beat the L.A. Kings 5-1 on opening night last Wednesday in Los Angeles.  New Sharks Goalie Martin Jones gave up a goal on the Kings first shot attempt, 1:49 into the game, but subsequently shutout the Kings the remainder of the game.  The Sharks’ new Captain Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists.  Joe Thornton and Brent Burns also had tallies.

On Saturday, the Sharks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 in San Jose.  Goalie Martin Jones stopped 27 of 27 shots and Left Winger Patrick Marleau scored both of the teams goals in the Sharks home opener win.  Since giving up a goal on the first shot he faced as a Shark, Martin Jones has gone 118 minutes without yielding  goal.  The Sharks acquired Martin Jones from Boston for a 2016 first-round pick and F Sean Kuraly.

Capitals
The Capitals (1-0-0) are coming off an opening night victory against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.  The Capitals survived a less than stellar start. Even though the Caps jumped to a quick 2-0 lead, the two-goal lead was once gain squandered. The team showed typical opening night sluggishness for a good portion of the game until Alexander Ovechkin turned the tides and lit a fire under his teammates with a dazzling Ovechkin special.

Last Season
The teams traded wins in each others buildings last season.  The Sharks won 6-5 in a shootout at Verizon Center last October 14th.  The Capitals returned the favor with a 5-4 overtime victory in San Jose on February 11th.  The game winner was  scored by Joel Ward.