POSTGAME NOTEBOOK - Caps 4, Sharks 0

Nothing From Nothing - Caps goalie Samsonov recorded his second shutout in succession on Saturday against the Sharks in San Jose, stopping 22 shots to win 4-0, and extending his shutout streak to 151 minutes and 37 seconds, dating back to a Nov. 12 game against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

This is the 12th time in franchise history that a Washington netminder has spun shutouts in consecutive regular season starts, though not all were achieved in consecutive team games. Samsonov becomes the ninth different goaltender to notch consecutive shutouts; Jim Carey did so three times and Olie Kolzig did it twice.
Until Samsonov turned the trick this week in Los Angeles and San Jose, Braden Holtby was the lone Caps goalie to achieve the feat in the last 19 years. Holtby had back-to-back whitewashings on Jan. 5-7, 2017.
Prior to Samsonov, the last Caps goalie to pitch consecutive shutouts entirely on the road was Clint Malarchuk on Feb. 19-20 at Winnipeg and Minnesota, respectively. Al Jensen (Oct. 25-26, 1983) and Pat Riggin {Jan. 28-Feb. 2, 1984) also pitched back-to-back shutouts for the Caps on the road.
"When you have your mental focus in anything, you're sharper," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "When you're dialed in and you're mentally on point, then your game can follow suit as well. If you're not in it or if you're drifting or if you're thinking about other things as well, it's difficult to be solid. I'm not saying he was or he wasn't; I'm just saying when you're sharp mentally, you've got a chance."
Samsonov now has three shutouts in his last four starts. He blanked the Arizona Coyotes on 16 shots in Washington on Oct. 29.
I Can Help - Caps defenseman John Carlson picked up a pair of helpers on Saturday to push past Michal Pivonka (418) and into sole possession of third place on Washington's all-time assist list. Carlson now has 420 career assists, trailing only longtime teammates Nicklas Backstrom (722) and Alex Ovechkin (605).
Aside from expansion teams Vegas and Seattle, Washington is the only NHL club with each of its top three all-time assist leaders on its active roster.
Carlson currently carries a four-game point streak (seven assists) and he has registered a pair of helpers in each of the last three games. With 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) this season, Carlson is tied for second in the League in scoring by defensemen, just a point behind Nashville's Roman Josi (17) for the top spot.
Double Barrel - Conor Sheary and Alex Ovechkin scored two goals each to account for Washington's offense on Saturday night in San Jose. Sheary scored on the Caps' first shot on goal of the game, tallying at 2:17 to give Washington a lead it would not relinquish.
Ovechkin followed with a prototypical power-play goal on a one-timer from his left dot office, his first goal on a one-timer this season. Following a scoreless second period, Sheary scored his second of the night late in the third, sweeping the puck through San Jose goalie Adin Hill as the winger lost his balance and fell to the ice.
With just over a minute left, Ovechkin scored his 14th of the season - and the 744th goal of his career - into an empty net.
Washington has now had eight multi-goal games this season.
Driver 8 - Ovechkin victimized Hill for the first time in his career on Saturday, and he has now scored on 151 different goaltenders during his career to rank ninth all-time. Jaromir Jagr sits atop that list; he scored against 178 different netminders.
Ovechkin's multi-goal game on Saturday was the 152nd of his career, two shy of Mario Lemieux (154) for third place on the League's all-time list. Wayne Gretzky tops that ledger with 189.
With 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points in his first 18 games this season, Ovechkin has authored the second-best start to a season by a player aged 36 or older. Only Lemieux with 37 points in 18 games to start the 2002-03 season had a better start; Lemieux was 37 that season.
Finally, Ovechkin's third power-play goal of the season gives him 272 extra-man tallies for his career, two south of all-time NHL leader Dave Andreychuk (274).
Point Made - Rookie Caps center Aliaksei Protas picked up the first point of his NHL career with a secondary assist on Sheary's first goal of the game. Protas scored late in the second period, only to have the goal immediately waved off because Hill was plowed into on the play.
Back In The Saddle - The Caps got T. J. Oshie back in their lineup on Saturday after a 10-game absence, and they also got Nic Dowd back after he missed the last five games. Both players were out with lower body injuries.
"Obviously they're key guys for us," says Ovechkin. "Osh is kind of 'the guy' in the locker room, and we miss him a lot. It's finally nice to see him back. And Dowder is the first guy on the [penalty kill]. But I think the young guys stepped up big time. You can see everybody got a point and everybody did something in our success, and good for us."
Oshie finished the night with 14:15 in ice time and Dowd skated 16:06 in his return.
"I thought they were good," says Laviolette. "I thought Osh really came out really quick, really fast skating. He was physical, he was probably our most physical forward. And I thought that Dowder got better as the game went on.
"I thought they got to a point where you have a lead, and now you're looking to that line to take on a little bit more minutes and more zone starts, and to try to find the top two lines. I thought he went better as the game went on."
After playing in all 56 games last season, Dowd has been out three separate times with varying injuries this season, missing one, then two and finally five games, respectively.
"It was good," says Dowd. "It was exciting. I was really excited to warm up, and it was great to be around the guys again. The first couple of shifts were a little quick, especially against a physical team, and they're a fast team, too. They could get in on the forecheck.
"But then I kind of settled into the game. I was playing with [Garnet Hathaway] and [Carl Hagelin] and they've been both playing really well. So they kind of pulled me along and got me going on the right direction. But it was exciting to be back and I'm looking forward to [Sunday in Seattle]."
This One Goes To Eleven - Laviolette earned the 684th victory of his NHL coaching career on Saturday, pulling into a tie for 11th place with Pat Quinn on the NHL's all-time list.
Dahlen Down -Rookie Sharks forward Jonathan Dahlen entered Saturday's game with seven goals, tied with Tomas Hertl for the team lead. The son of ex-Caps winger Ulf Dahlen, Jonathan left Saturday's game early in the first period with an upper body injury and he did not return.
The younger Dahlen was Ottawa's second-round choice (42nd overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft. He was traded at the trade deadlines in 2017 and in 2019, when he came to San Jose. The 23-yeqr-old Dahlen debuted with the Sharks this season, and he has seven goals and nine points in 16 games.
Down On The Farm- The AHL Hershey Bears also spent Saturday night on the road, facing the Wolf Pack in Hartford. The Bears came out on the short end of a 7-3 decision.
Down 2-0 after 20 minutes of play, the Bears rallied to take a 3-2 lead into the third, scoring a trio of second-period goals. Shane Gersich scored his first of the season, an unassisted goal at 1:33 of the second to put the Bears on the board.
Seconds after the midpoint of the middle period, Mike Sgarbossa netted his sixth of the season with help from Lucas Johansen and Beck Malenstyn, tying the game at 2-2.
Hershey took a 3-2 lead at 15:13 when Dylan McIlrath scored his first of the season with help from Gersich and Michal Kempny.
But that was as good as it got for the Bears on this night. The Wolf Pack struck for five goals in the final frame, getting a pair each from Lauri Padjuniemi and Jonny Brodzinski in the third to win going away. Hartford's five third-period goals came in a span of 11 minutes and 20 seconds.
Zach Fucale suffered the loss in net for the Bears, falling to 3-1-2 on the season. The 6-5-2-1 Bears will be back in action on Sunday when they host Charlotte at Giant Center.
By The Numbers - The Caps' total of 21 shots on the night is a single-game season low … Nick Jensen led Washington with 21:59 in ice time … Sheary and Ovechkin led the Caps with four shots on net each, and Sheary led the way with six shot attempts … Hathaway led Washington with nine hits and Oshie had eight … The Sharks outhit the Caps 40-39 in a physical affair … Trevor van Riemsdyk blocked three shots to lead the Caps … Connor McMichael won eight of 11 draws (73 percent) and Protas won six of nine (67%).