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The San Jose Sharks kicked off their Eastern Conference road trip with a win, defeating the Washington Capitals 4-1 tonight.
The Sharks had a strong opening frame, outshooting the Capitals 14-8. About eight minutes into the game, Noah Gregor got the Sharks on the board after taking a pass from Brent Burns in front and putting it into the open net, and the Sharks took the lead into the intermission.
San Jose added to their lead early in the second period, as Matt Nieto managed to avoid some pressure to make a zone entry and got the puck to Nicolas Meloche, who put a shot past Ilya Samsonov for his first NHL goal. The Sharks didn’t have the same control in the second frame though and the Capitals generated some great chances, but San Jose escaped with their 2-0 lead intact.
Daniel Sprong got Washington on the board just 14 seconds into the third period though, wiring a shot right after an offensive zone faceoff to beat James Reimer. However, while the Capitals got a lot of shots on net through the final frame, they didn’t actually manage a ton of great chances. Then with about three minutes to go, Jonathan Dahlen came down on a rush and snuck a shot through Samsonov to extend the lead again. Andrew Cogliano would add an empty net goal after that, as the Sharks picked up the 4-1 win.
It was a big road win for the Sharks and a nice bounce back after their 7-1 home loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
James Reimer made some important saves and had a really solid game, which was great to see given that he’s struggled over the last little while.
Aside from the game, it was also announced yesterday that Erik Karlsson will be out until at least mid-March, after undergoing forearm surgery. Karlsson didn't play in the the Sharks' loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and had the surgery on Monday.
The Sharks now hold a 22-19-2 secord and sit 11th in the Western Conference in points percentage. San Jose’s next game comes on Saturday against the Florida Panthers.
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