Caps dominate, Oshie hits milestone as Sharks' streak ends

T.J. Oshie scored two goals and added an assist as the visiting Washington Capitals defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Thursday night. The result ended a six-game winning streak for San Jose and gave the Capitals their second consecutive victory in the city. Before last year's win in their only visit to San Jose, the Capitals had not won there since 1993.

Oshie reached the 500-point milestone with his three points. He scored one goal each in the first and second periods, the latter giving him the 500th NHL point. Alex Ovechkin, Jakub Vrana and Tom Wilson each finished with one goal and one assist for the Capitals.

Washington turned in a much stronger defensive performance in front of goalie Braden Holtby and slowed the high-octane San Jose attack. San Jose scored a 7-6 overtime victory over the Capitals in Washington in late January, but the Sharks couldn't do nearly as much this time. Holtby finished with 25 saves and earned his 20th victory this season.

Kevin Labanc gave San Jose an early lead with his goal 2:06 into the game, but it was all Washington after that. The Capitals tied it when Oshie scored on the power play just 92 seconds later. Vrana gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead by scoring his 18th goal of the season from in front with 8:17 left in the first period. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom earned assists.

Washington then added two more goals in the second period. Ovechkin scored the first, blasting a one-timer past goalie Martin Jones from the left circle after a quick cross-ice pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov at 4:14. Oshie then took advantage of a San Jose mistake for the Capitals' fourth goal late in the period. The Sharks turned the puck over in their end, and Oshie scooped up the puck and came in alone on Jones and scored with 1:58 left.

With just under five minutes left in the game, San Jose pulled Jones, who finished with 24 saves. After a blocked shot, Wilson came in alone for an empty-net score. He has scored 15 goals, a career high. San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson missed his ninth straight game with a lower-body injury -- the San Jose Mercury News calls it a groin problem -- but the team feels he's getting closer to returning.

--Field Level Media

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