Another day and another east coast road game for the San Jose Sharks.
The teal and black conclude their current East Coast tonight against the great 8, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. This is the first time these clubs are meeting this season.
The Sharks hope to rebound from a disappointing result in Tampa Bay. The Lightning erupted offensively in the third period en route to a 5-2 win.
The loss ended a streak of six consecutive games earning at least a point (4-0-2) and spoiled Martin Jones' return from injury. Marty made 38 stops in defeat.
Another prime example of why this team has no shot in the Western Conference until they bolster the offense.
While the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning didn't go the Sharks' way, it did feature both Barclay Goodrow and Justin Braun tallying their first goals of the season. Martin Jones also made 38 saves in his return from injury, with a particularly strong showing in the first two periods.
Speaking of injury, one comes back and two go out with both Tim Heed and Joonas Donskoi going on Injured Reserve prior to Saturday's game. Melker Karlsson and Mikkel Boedker remain on the shelf for now.
Despite the loss, San Jose is on a roll and a win in Washington would send the boys home winners of four of five during the trip.
Here is your game day stat of day: the Sharks are 22-1-2 in their last 25 games vs. Washington.
The Sharks have played 25 games and are 14-9-2 with 30 points. They are tied for third in the Pacific Division. LA leads the division with 37 points in 28 game. It's pretty amazing to see San Jose within striking distance of first place considering how this season started. They really need to get healthy and add some help up, otherwise this effort is going all for naught.
A quick note:
Captain Joe Pavelski joined Henrik Zetterberg as the only other player not drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft to score 300 goals since 1999.
He picked up 300 in the win in Florida. Is it me or is that the quietest 300 goals in NHL history?
Thanks for reading, Steve