Photo: Amanda Cain/NHLI via Getty Images
The Washington Capitals defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-0 at SAP Center on Saturday night. The win improves the Capitals’ record on the season to 11-2-5 and 27 points. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves in the victory, earning his sixth career shutout.
Lines & Pairs
Graphic: @Capitals
Scratches: Center Nicklas Backstrom (hip), left-wing Anthony Mantha (shoulder), center Lars Eller (COVID-19 protocol), center Garrett Pilon, and defensemen Matt Irwin and Dennis Cholowski
Transactions: Right-wing T.J. Oshie and center Nic Dowd were activated from the Injured Reserve list on Saturday. Right-wing Brett Leason was re-assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
First Period
Forward Conor Sheary opened the scoring at the 2:17 mark, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Forward Daniel Sprong and center Aliaksei Protas, who notched his first career NHL point, assisted.
Shears gets one in the Shark Tank! pic.twitter.com/wpSttEv0wi
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 21, 2021
At the 13:58 mark, captain Alex Ovechkin extended the Captials’ lead 2-0 on a power-play from his office. Defenseman John Carlson and forward T.J. Oshie had the helpers.
Office time! pic.twitter.com/Qz3BWE8pmI
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 21, 2021
Quick Stats
SOG: 6-6
Face-Off Win %: 55% (Capitals), 44% (Sharks)
Hits: 17-15 Capitals
Second Period
The middle frame would be scoreless.
Quick Stats
Total SOG: 16-13 Sharks
Face-Off Win %: 55% (Sharks), 44% (Capitals)
Total Hits: 30-27 Sharks
Third Period
Sheary would pot his second of the night at the 15:10 mark, extending Washington’s lead to 3-0. Carlson and Ovechkin assisted.
No balance? No problem pic.twitter.com/eqMtTDEfte
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 21, 2021
Ovechkin would score an empty-net goal with just over one minute remaining to make it a 4-0 game.
Quick Stats
Total SOG: 22-21 Sharks
Face-Off Win %: 55% (Sharks), 45% (Capitals)
Total Hits: 40-39 Sharks
Notes Through the Game
- Sheary has now scored three goals in his last five games.
- Sprong recorded the primary assist on Sheary’s goal, marking his first career point against San Jose.
- Ovechkin scored his 743rd career goal and 272nd power-play goal. He is three power-play goals shy of passing Dave Andreychuk (274) for the most power-play goals in NHL history.
- Carlson picked up his 419th career assist, passing Michal Pivonka (418) for third on the franchise assists list. He also extended his assist streak to four games (6a).
- Excluding Vegas and Seattle, the Capitals are the only franchise with their top-three assist leaders in franchise history on their active roster (1. Backstrom: 722a; 2. Ovechkin: 604a; 3. Carlson: 419a).
- Ovechkin’s first-period goal was his first career goal scored on goaltender Adin Hill, the 151st different goaltender Ovechkin has scored on in his career.
- Oshie has recorded seven points (4g, 3a) in eight games this season.
- Sheary earned his 14th career multi-goal game and his third as a Capital.
- Carlson extended his multi-assist game to three straight games.
- Tonight marked Ovechkin’s 152nd career multi-goal game, which ranks fourth in NHL history (Wayne Gretzky: 189; Brett Hull: 158; Mario Lemieux: 154).
- Samsonov earned his second-straight shutout and third of the season. He is the 12th goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout in consecutive regular-season appearances and the first since Braden Holtby (Jan. 5-7, 2017).
- The Capitals extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1). The Capitals’ .778 road point percentage ranks third in the NHL (Carolina: .889; Tampa Bay: .786).
- The Capitals have dressed seven different rookies this season and all seven have recorded at least one point, which is the second-most in the NHL (San Jose Sharks: eight rookies with at least one point).
- Ovechkin recorded his 120th career game with at least three points. He has recorded 29 points (14g, 15a) in 18 games this season, which ranks third in the NHL.
- Ovechkin has recorded 18 points during five-on-five play this season, which ranks first in the NHL.
The Capitals are back in action for the final game of their West Coast road trip Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena facing the Seattle Kraken for the first time. NBC Sports Washington will have the coverage starting at 9 PM ET.
By Della Young
