Following a day off in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Capitals traveled to Northern California on Friday in advance of their tilt with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. The team held practice Friday afternoon at the Solar4America Ice at San Jose.
Both T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd skated in full contact jerseys, further signifying the two players are closer to their return to the lineup.

T.J. Oshie (lower body) is on the ice at the San Jose practice facility before Capitals practice, normal full contact jersey.

— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 19, 2021

Capitals Coach Peter Laviolette said T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd are “possibilities” for Saturday’s game in San Jose. Laviolette said they were getting close.

Oshie skated on a line with rookies Connor McMichael and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby during practice. The Capitals power play units on Friday:

Capitals power play units:

PP1: Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Oshie, Carlson, Sheary

PP2: Wilson, Sprong, Schultz, Orlov, Protas

— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 19, 2021

Daniel Sprong was helped from the ice during practice. He would later return to the ice to test things out by himself. Laviolette said after practice it’s a good sign that he returned to practice.

Something happened behind the net, didn’t see exactly what, but he hobbled off with the team trainer.

— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 19, 2021

Lars Eller was once again a non-practice-ant in practice as he continues in COVID protocol. It was unclear if Eller traveled to San Jose or remained in Los Angeles.

SHAVINGS

The Capitals extended their point streak to six games (5-0-1) with a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings Wednesday night. It marks Washington’s second point streak of at least six games this season (eight-game point streak: Oct. 13 – Oct. 29: 5-0-3).

Hello from San Jose 👋#ALLCAPS | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/Pr39wQwjc0

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 19, 2021

The Capitals, who sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 10-2-5 (25 points), rank fifth in the NHL in goals for per game (3.41) and third in goals against per game (2.29). Washington is one of two teams to rank in top five in both categories (Florida: 3.88 GF/GP ranks first, 2.41 GA/GP ranks fifth).

“It’s not easy, but I think everybody did a good job and adjust their game and play better and better every game so much. That’s why we’re winning.”

Dmitry Orlov discusses entering the third of three sets of back-to-backs on the road this month. #ALLCAPS | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/8mAxaYl7yC

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 19, 2021

Ilya Samsonov stopped all 34 shots faced against Los Angeles and earned his second shutout of the season and the fifth of his career. This season, Samsonov is 5-0-1 with a 2.45 goals against average and .914 save percentage. Samsonov and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky (7-0-2) are the only goaltenders in the NHL this season with at least five starts and zero regulation losses.

"We know when guys go down, it's going to take everybody and you've seen a lot of great team efforts where guys are like, 'Hey, we're in this. We're in this together and we're going to try and pull out a win.'"

Tom Wilson on the team's recent success.#ALLCAPS | @MedStarHealth pic.twitter.com/PryxJDt1Sf

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 19, 2021

In 52 career games, Samsonov has a 34-10-4 record and a 22-3-2 record on the road. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Samsonov’s 22 road wins rank tied for seventh in the NHL and are the most among goaltenders with 30 or fewer road games played.

The Capitals face the Sharks tomorrow night in San Jose. Puck drop is set for 10:30 PM ET.

By Jon Sorensen