The Washington Capitals found the perfect way to open a four-game road trip against the San Jose Sharks. Joel Ward scored on a rebound at 2:42 of overtime to give the Capitals a 5-4 victory in at SAP Center on Wednesday. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi stopped Mike Green's shot from the slot but couldn't control the puck, and Ward scored from close range. Sharks coach Todd McLellan said the Capitals should have been penalized before Ward scored because one of his players got tripped. Troy Brouwer and John Carlson each had one goal for Washington (29-16-10), and Braden Holtby made 26 saves. Brent Burns scored two goals for San Jose (28-20-8); Logan Couture and Joe Thornton also scored and Niemi made 28 saves. The Sharks lost their third straight game and for the fifth time in their past six. After spotting Washington a 1-0 lead in the first period on Beagle's first goal, Burns scored back-to-back goals in the first 43 seconds of the second period. The Capitals pulled even on Brouwer's power-play goal, but Couture scored at 14:48 of the second on a wraparound, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead. Washington didn't have a shot for over nine minutes in the third period, but Beagle made it 3-3 at 11:17 with his second goal of the game, scoring on a rush after Sharks defenseman Mirco Mueller ran into linesman Lonnie Cameron and couldn't recover. Mueller said he was "mad for a second" and then moved on. Ward ended it in overtime with his 12th goal of the season. Holtby had allowed four goals over his previous five starts (130 saves), but he had trouble against the Sharks again. He gave up three goals on seven shots and was pulled at 9:34 of the first period on Oct. 14 when the Sharks defeated Washington 6-5 in a shootout at Verizon Center. Sharks fans were fired up after former goaltender Evgeni Nabokov dropped the ceremonial first puck, hours after he retired from the NHL as a Shark. But it was the Capitals who struck first. Washington took a 1-0 lead at 15:02 of the first period when Beagle, playing on the fourth line with center Michael Latta and Andre Burakovsky, scored his eighth goal of the season. Brooks Orpik sent a shot from the high right circle into traffic. The puck bounced off San Jose defenseman Matt Tennyson's skate to Beagle, who beat Niemi with a wrist shot from the slot. The Sharks needed 43 seconds in the second period to catch and pass the Capitals. San Jose opened the period with a minute left on a power play, and Burns put a wrist shot past Holtby from the point at 21 seconds while Joe Pavelski provided a screen. Twenty-two seconds later, Burns struck again, scoring his 14th goal to give San Jose a 2-1 lead. This time, Couture provided the screen in front of Holtby and Burns scored on a wrist shot from the high slot. San Jose's lead didn't last long. Washington pulled even at 6:17 on Brouwer's power-play goal. Alex Ovechkin sent the puck toward the low slot, and Brouwer deflected it up and over Niemi's glove for his 16th goal of the season. But the Sharks restored the lead at 14:48 on Couture's wraparound goal. Matt Nieto fired a shot from the left circle that went wide left. Couture tracked down the puck behind the net and snuck it inside the right post for his 20th goal of the season. The Capitals have two days off before facing the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Saturday. After that, they'll play the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins. Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner played his 400th NHL game, all with Washington.
Sharks Quotes
Todd McLellan: "They didn't think it was a penalty. It's fair to say we disagreed with them."Mirco Mueller: "It's hockey, (stuff) happens. Yeah, he said sorry, obviously."
Carlson put the Capitals ahead 4-3 at 13:26 with his seventh goal of the season, beating Niemi with a shot from the right circle, but Thornton responded at 14:29.
Logan Couture: "Seems like every game the other team is scoring some pretty easy goals. We're not making it tough. It's on the defense, it's on the forward playing low to be harder around our net. Nemo's making the first save and they're scoring on the second one. We've got to be getting sticks and being a lot stronger around our own net. It's too easy for them to score goals right now."
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