Instant Replay: Sharks stay hot, blank Capitals in DC

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BOX SCORE

WASHINGTON – Martin Jones remained lights-out, and the Sharks got two key goals from their third and fourth lines to blank the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals at Verizon Center on Tuesday night, 5-0.

San Jose improved to 3-0-0 on the season in what was the first of a four-game road trip.

Washington was without its two best offensive players, as Ovechkin was a late scratch due to personal reasons and Nicklas Backstrom is still recovering from a hip injury.

Joe Thornton’s power play goal opened the scoring midway through the first period as the Sharks controlled play for most of the opening frame, outshooting the Caps 17-8.

The lead increased to 3-0 in the second period. The Sharks’ fourth line was rewarded for its strong play so far this season when Chris Tierney drove around Justin Williams and goalie Braden Holtby left a rebound for Mike Brown to clean up at 2:36.

The third line followed that up with a marker at 7:25, when Tomas Hertl swiped in the rebound of a Tommy Wingels shot for his second of the year.

Matt Nieto and Tierney added late empty net goals as the Sharks were outshot 11-5 in the third period.

Washington appeared to get on the board midway through regulation. Dmitry Orlov blasted in a loose puck from the high slot, but utilizing the new rule change, Pete DeBoer challenged the score due to goalie interference. After a brief delay, it was ruled that Jay Beagle came into illegal contact with Jones.

The Capitals continued to apply pressure over the final 10 minutes of the second, outshooting the Sharks 7-2 over that span, but couldn’t solve Jones.

Jones’ best stops came early in the game. After a Thornton giveaway, he sucked in a Jason Chimera wide-open shot from the slot on the very first puck he faced, and later denied Tom Wilson on a two-on-one rush with 11:04 to go in the opening frame.

He later got some help from Burns, who deftly broke up a three-on-one rush by swiping the puck away from Evgeny Kuznetsov with his long reach in the final minute.

The game marked the first back in Washington for Joel Ward since he departed as a free agent after four years with the Capitals. The right wing, who scored some of the biggest goals in recent franchise history, was given a loud ovation following a highlight video at the first television timeout.

The Sharks improved to 11-1-0 in their last 12 games at Verizon Center. The teams meet for the second and final time at SAP Center on March 12.

Special teams

San Jose was 1-for-5 on the power play, and killed off all four Caps advantages, including two straight in the third period. The Sharks are a perfect 11-for-11 for the season on the kill.

In the third period, Chimera stuck out his elbow while skating past the Sharks’ bench, and after reaching his own bench, gave Thornton a two-handed whack. He was issued a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct at 5:33.

In goal

After allowing a goal on his first shot faced as a Shark, Jones has made 77 straight saves, including 31 against the Caps for his second straight shutout. It was his first ever career appearance against Washington.

The goalie now has a shutout streak of 178:11, just 44 seconds shy of the franchise record set by Alex Stalock in January, 2014.

Hotlby fell to 2-2-0 in his career against San Jose, allowing three goals on 30 shots.

Lineup

The Sharks have iced the same lineup for all three games. Ben Smith and Dylan DeMelo remained as the healthy scratches.

Up next

The Sharks will have two practice days to get ready for the New Jersey Devils on Friday, as DeBoer will return to face the organization that he coached for three-and-a-half seasons.

San Jose visits the Islanders on Saturday and Rangers on Monday, returning home to host the Kings on Thursday, Oct. 22.

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