Alex Ovechkin scored twice in a three-point outing and goaltender Ilya Samsonov collected his second consecutive shutout as the visiting Washington Capitals claimed a 4-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Conor Sheary also scored twice for Washington, which is on a 6-0-1 run, while Samsonov stopped 22 shots for his third shutout of the season and sixth in his career. He hasn’t allowed a goal in 151 minutes and 37 seconds. Defenseman John Carlson collected two assists, his third consecutive multi-assist game.
Goalie Adin Hill made 17 saves for the Sharks, who have lost four of five games — in which they have managed only eight goals — and have just two victories in their last eight games.
Sheary opened the scoring 2:17 into the affair to give the Capitals their early lead. Four San Jose skaters were defending on the back check, but were focused on Daniel Sprong during the rush, which allowed him to make a pass that sprung Sheary for a golden chance that he converted.
With his assist on the goal, 2019 third-round draft choice Aliaksei Protas collected his first NHL point in his seventh big-league game.
Ovechkin’s prototypical power-play goal doubled the score. While on the man-advantage, the Washington captain unloaded a one-timer from the top of the left circle with 6:02 remaining in the opening frame.
It is Ovechkin’s 272nd man-advantage marker, which puts him two behind the NHL record held by Dave Andreychuk. Hill becomes the 151st different goaltender to surrender a goal to Ovechkin.
Sheary pounced on a rebound from the bottom of the right circle with 4:50 left in the game — his fifth goal of the season and fourth in the last five games — and Ovechkin rounded out the scoring with an empty-net tally for his 744th career goal.
The Sharks had a double disappointment with forward Jonathan Dahlen leaving with an apparent shoulder injury.
–Field Level Media
