Sharks 2022-23 Game 54 Recap: Sharks 4, Capitals 1 (2/12/23)

 Team Teal closes out their last long road trip of the season with another big win, a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Super Bowl Sunday. 

The Sharks struck first early in the first period on Evgeny Svechnikov’s fifth goal of the season from Erik Karlsson and Jonah Gadjovich. This also marks Evgeny Svechnikov’s tenth point of the season and his first point against the Capitals in his career. 

Towards the middle of the second period, Alexander Barabanov scored his ninth goal of the season and his third goal in the past four games to extend the Sharks’ lead to two on the man advantage from Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson. In addition, EK65 picks up his 55th assist of the season, tying the second-most assists in Sharks franchise history for a defenseman. The Capitals answered back with a goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov to get on the board and cut their deficit to one. During that play, Kuznetsov made contact with Kaapo Kahkonen’s head, and Kahkonen was slow to get up. This led to Kahkonen getting pulled late in the middle frame and Aaron Dell replacing him in net due to concussion protocol. Kahkonen made a total of 12 saves before exiting the game early. 

Later in the third period, Erik Karlsson scored his 18th goal of the year to get the Sharks back to a two-goal lead, capping off a three-point day. This is Karlsson’s eighth three-point performance of the season, setting a Sharks franchise record. Logan Couture and Alexander Barabanov picked up the helpers on EK65’s 18th goal of the year. Lastly, Tomas Hertl sealed the deal with an empty-netter with around two minutes remaining in regulation. Nick Bonino recorded the lone assist on the empty-netter by Tomas Hertl. 

Aaron Dell was a perfect 8-for-8 in save opportunities in relief of Kaapo Kahkonen. As for James Reimer, he hasn’t started in some time because he has been dealing with a minor illness, according to head coach David Quinn. Reimer should be available as soon as the Sharks’ next game. 

The Sharks finished this lengthy road trip with a 3-3-2 record, which is pretty good considering all the teams they faced and the odds stacked against this Sharks team. Another stat worth mentioning regarding this game is that the Sharks are now 15-2-1 when playing in DC since 1990, which is an NHL-best span during that time period. San Jose should absolutely build off their current great level of play in any way possible heading back home. Next up, the Sharks host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Valentine’s Day this Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, multiple sources via Twitter 

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