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Capitals Report Card: Caps Demolish Sharks in San Jose
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- Capitals Report Card: Caps Demolish Sharks in San Jose
David Gonzales-Imagn Images
The Washington Capitals (17-9-2) are currently on a hot streak. They put on a dominant road performance as they crushed the San Jose Sharks (13-12-3) 7-1 on Wednesday night.
The Capitals have won six in a row and now lead the entire Eastern Conference with 36 points on the season.
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Ryan Leonard put on one of his best performances this season, as he recorded four points (2 goals, 2 assists). He even got to face his former Boston College teammate Will Smith in the process.
Alex Ovechkin also recorded two tallies on the night, as the 40-year-old continues to show that he's still got it.
Other Capitals players who chimed in on the scoring were Sonny Milano , Brandon Duhaime , and Dylan Strome .
The visitors had to play without Justin Sourdif and John Carlson who were both injured. However, the team still got the job done big time.
Next up, the Capitals finish their California road trip down south as they face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.
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Capitals Analysis
The Capitals got things going when they took a 4-0 lead by the end of the opening period, which led to two more in the middle frame, and another in the third.
However, it was Leonard who had the best performance of the evening in San Jose. The 20-year-old rookie found the net in the first and third periods.
Leonard's first goal came when he got to the front of the net, picked up a rebound, showed his patience, and fired a shot past Yaroslav Askarov .
With that goal, Leonard extended his point streak to four games and now has five points in his last six performances.
Leonard then collected two assists before recording his second tally on a highlight-reel play in the third. He kicked the puck to himself while fending off Sharks players, and slipped the puck past Alex Nedeljkovic .
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Ovechkin recorded the Capitals' first tally of the game, as he got to the front and stuck with the puck before shooting it top shelf. He later scored again on the power play for his 14th tally of the season and career goal No. 911.
In the process, The Great 8 extended his point streak to six games and is on pace for 41 goals this year.
Speaking of special teams, the Capitals came through on one of their penalty kills as Brandon Duhaime scored a shorthanded goal in the first period. Aliaksei Protas recorded the assist and now has points in four straight games and five of his last six.
Lindgren was spectacular in net as he stopped 23 of 24 shots that went his way. He also made a remarkable save that led to Duhaime's shorthanded tally.
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Lindgren's shutout bid ended late in regulation when Dmitry Orlov 's slap shot was deflected in by Pavel Regenda. However, it didn't matter as he recorded his fifth win of the season.
Capitals Report Card
Team: A+
One of the strongest performances by the Capitals this season, as they scored seven goals and came very close to a shutout.
Ryan Leonard: A+
Leonard put on quite the show with four points (2 goals, 2 assists), with his second tally being a highlight-reel one.
Alex Ovechkin: A
Ovechkin also continues to stay hot, as he also scored two goals and now has 911 career tallies.
Charlie Lindgren : A
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Lindgren was also dominant and came very close to a shutout bid. Nevertheless, he made 23 saves on the night.
Capitals Special Teams: A
The Capitals' special teams continues to improve after a rough start to the season. The team went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill and scored both shorthanded and on the man advantage.
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