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Sharks try to extend another fast start vs. Caps

Oct 14, 2014 - 3:01 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Jose Sharks have a reputation for collapsing at the end of seasons, but Todd McLellan's club is once again proving it knows how to start a campaign.

San Jose will shoot for a 3-0 record when it visits the Washington Capitals for Tuesday's encounter at Verizon Center.

The Sharks set a franchise record by winning seven straight to begin the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and won six in a row before losing in 2013-14. San Jose now enters its third contest having not allowed a goal yet this season.

San Jose became just the fourth team in NHL history to lose a playoff series when leading 3-0, dropping four straight to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the opening round of last season's playoffs. However, the Sharks began 2014-15 with a 4-0 road win over the Kings before downing the visiting Winnipeg Jets by a 3-0 score on Saturday.

Antti Niemi made 34 saves to shut out the defending champs last Wednesday and Alex Stalock turned aside 30 shots to anchor the home victory against the Jets.

Patrick Marleau notched a goal and an assist to lead the way in Saturday's home opener, while Tomas Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tomas Hertl also scored.

Although his team is 2-0 after a pair of shutout victories, San Jose's head coach was left less than impressed with his team's latest win. McLellan was particularly displeased with his club's 0-for-8 showing on the power play.

"People who didn't see the game, they're going to say,'Boy, the Sharks are off to a pretty good start,'" said McLellan. "But that was not a well-played game on our behalf by any means. I thought we played a good 26, 27 minutes. Then after that we weren't close to being the better team. I thought our power play absolutely sucked the life out of our team today. That's probably as weak as it's been in a long, long time. We have some work to do there."

Niemi boasts excellent career numbers against the Capitals and could get the call tonight. The Finnish netminder is 4-0-2 with a 1.77 goals against average and .936 save percentage over six career outings against Washington.

San Jose has dominated the Capitals in recent years with Washington managing just two victories over the past 19 meetings. However, one of those wins came in the last encounter between the clubs on March 22 when Washington recorded a 3-2 shootout win in San Jose. The Caps still have lost three in a row and nine of the last 10 matchups in D.C.

Washington has opened its season with a 1-0-1 record, losing a shootout decision Thursday against visiting Montreal before posting an impressive 4-0 win Saturday in Boston.

Alex Ovechkin scored two first-period goals to help the Capitals beat Boston and give Barry Trotz his first victory behind the Washington bench.

Braden Holtby made 29 saves to record his 12th career shutout and Mike Green and Joel Ward added goals for Washington.

"It was big. I was telling the guys, 'Finally! I didn't want to go 0-82.' That would be sort of embarrassing," Trotz joked.

Washington is kicking off a three-game homestand tonight and also will welcome New Jersey and Florida to the Verizon Center before heading back on the road.

San Jose, meanwhile, is beginning a five-game road trip this evening. The Sharks have a road-heavy slate in October, as they'll close the month by playing eight of 10 tilts away from Silicon Valley.