Kuznetsov, who had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, did not practice Saturday because of an illness. Washington has lost three of its past five games after winning four of its previous five. San Jose, which ended the Columbus Blue Jackets' 12-game point streak with a 3-2 victory on Saturday, is 3-1-1 in its past five games after going 1-8-1 in its previous 10.
Players to watch
Sharks forward Joe Thornton has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past five games. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has five points (two goals, three assists) in a five-game point streak and needs two goals to tie Teemu Selanne (684) for 11th place in NHL history.
They said it
"I just the like way we're playing as a 20-man unit. We're all on the same page and we're doing some good things. We're managing our game. It's a little bit of a more mature game lately and we're giving ourselves a chance to win every night, which is the most important thing."-- Sharks coach Bob Boughner "It'll be a real important thing or us to play with speed and some edge to our game, a heavy game that involves some physical contact. We've got to make sure we're getting in on this defense and forcing them to go 200 feet to get offense. We can't allow [Erik] Karlsson and [Brent] Burns to be joining every rush and not ever touch them. They're a major part of their team, and the forecheck will be key for us on Sunday." -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden
San Jose went 0-for-1 on the power play against Columbus and is 3-for-52 (5.8 percent) since Nov. 19 (22 games). … All 16 of Vrana's goals this season have come at even strength. … Backstrom has an assist in each of his past four games.
