Capitals at Sharks
THE STORY: It has been quite some time since the Washington Capitals left HP Pavilion feeling satisfied. They will try for their first win at the Shark Tank in over 18 years when they visit San Jose on Saturday. Washington, which enters with a four-game winning streak, is 0-10-0 with a tie in San Jose since posting a victory on Oct. 30, 1993. In the last 19 overall meetings between the teams, the Capitals are 2-16-1. The Sharks have won three straight contests and have earned at least one point in 10 of their last 11 (7-1-3). San Jose also is 6-1-1 in its last eight matches at home.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (21-15-2): Washington was without Alexander Semin and lost leading scorer Nicklas Backstrom in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames, but both may be available Saturday. Semin sat out with an injured right arm while Backstrom increased his club-high points total to 42 with three assists before leaving with a head injury. Backstrom took an elbow to the head from Rene Bourque, who received a five-game suspension for his efforts. Defenseman Roman Hamrlik will play his 1,346th career game, tying him with Mats Sundin for 44th in NHL history. Alex Ovechkin has registered seven goals and four assists during his seven-game points streak.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (22-11-4): San Jose's 2-1 triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday was the 700th win in franchise history. Tommy Wingels was recalled from the minors and recorded one shot on goal in the win over Columbus, his first appearance with the Sharks since Oct. 17. Wingels was leading Worcester with 13 goals in 29 contests at the time of his recall. Captain Joe Thornton scored the game-winning goal Tuesday in his 500th game with the Sharks. Patrick Marleau has notched a point in nine of his last 10 matches.
OVERTIME:
1. The Capitals have lost eight of their last 11 road games.
2. Washington defenseman Mike Green recorded four penalty minutes Tuesday in his first game since Nov. 11 due to a groin injury.