Sharks 5, Capitals 2
Patrick Marleau recorded a goal and two assists as the San Jose Sharks continued their home dominance over the Washington Capitals with a 5-2 triumph on Saturday.
Torrey Mitchell added a tally and an assist, defensemen Jason Demers, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored and blue-liner Dan Boyle set up three scores for San Jose, which improved to 11-0-1 against Washington at home since Dec. 2, 1995.
Washington's Joel Ward forged a 2-2 tie just 44 seconds into the third period, but Marleau put the Sharks ahead for good only 16 seconds later as he converted a nifty backhand pass across the slot by captain Joe Thornton for his 15th goal of the season.
Vlasic made it 4-2 when he buried his own rebound at 8:51 and Mitchell sealed the win in the waning moments with an empty-netter.
Demers opened the scoring with a bizarre goal at 5:15 of the first. His shot from above the left faceoff circle deflected off the skate of a defender and caromed off the end boards before hitting Tomas Vokoun's left skate and sliding across the goal line.
Defenseman Dennis Wideman notched a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who had their four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 2-17-1 in their last 20 overall meetings with the Sharks. Washington has lost nine of 12 on the road.