EditorsNote: rewords last two grafs
Garnet Hathaway and Jakub Vrana both scored twice to pace the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 road victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
John Carlson added one goal and two assists, and Nic Dowd registered two assists for Washington. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby provided a 23-save performance in the win.
The Capitals have won four straight, this one keyed by three first-period goals in a 3:01 span.
With his team trailing 1-0, Hathaway ignited the visitors when he deflected a high Carlson point shot to tie the game at 13:31 of the opening frame.
Vrana scored his first of the night 53 seconds later when he pounced on a second chance after a redirection hit the post.
Carlson's ninth tally of the season, a top-corner shot at 16:32, made it a 3-1 score. He reached the 40-point mark for the season, in game No. 29, the first defenseman to hit that mark that quickly since the Calgary Flames' Al MacInnis in 1990-91.
The Capitals didn't stop there. Hathaway netted his second of the game at 2:31 of the second period when he jammed home a rebound. With his two goals, Hathaway doubled his season total. Then Vrana made it a 5-1 game when he claimed his 14th goal of the season with 3:45 remaining in the middle frame.
San Jose's Melker Karlsson opened the scoring at 2:33 of the first period, burying a breakaway opportunity. He also assisted on Evander Kane's late goal.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones surrendered five goals on 23 shots in the first two periods before he was pulled in favor of Aaron Dell for the final frame. Dell stopped five shots in his relief appearance for the Sharks, who were riding a two-game winning streak and went into the game having won five of six games.
San Jose's Tomas Hertl left the game early in the third period. Hertl, who recently missed four games due to a knee injury, took a tumble earlier. Kane is also likely facing a suspension after he was given a major penalty and game misconduct for a third-period elbow to the head of Radko Gudas.
--Field Level Media
