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Ward, Capitals edge Sharks in OT

Feb 12, 2015 - 7:35 AM San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Joel Ward scored the game-winning goal with 2:18 left in overtime as the Washington Capitals emerged victorious in a back- and-forth game with the San Jose Sharks by a 5-4 score on Wednesday.

Jay Beagle posted two goals and an assist, John Carlson had a goal and an assist and Troy Brouwer also lit the lamp for the Capitals, who have won four of their last five games.

Braden Holtby made 26 saves in the opener of Washington's four-game road trip.

"We wanted to start the road trip off with a win," said Ward. "We showed some resiliency and fought back."

Brent Burns scored twice, Joe Thornton and Logan Couture each supplied a goal and an assist and Antti Niemi stopped 28-of-33 shots for the Sharks, who dropped their third in a row.

"It's really disappointing that we didn't get the win after that effort," San Jose head coach Todd McLellan said.

Ward drove to the front of the net, shrugged off Burns in front and fired home Mike Green's backhander from the left circle for the win.

In the third, Beagle broke in alone on a breakaway after Sharks defenseman Mirco Mueller collided with a linesman and tucked a backhander under Niemi's pad for a 3-3 game with 8:43 to play.

Carlson put the Capitals ahead after he took a cross-ice feed and ripped a wrister past Niemi's glove with 6:34 remaining.

Just over a minute later, Thornton evened things again on a short-side wrister from the right circle.

Washington opened the scoring with 4:58 left in the first period. Michael Latta emerged from behind the net and sent to the puck to Brooks Orpik up high. Orpik's shot from above the left circle was stopped, but Beagle was there to deposit the rebound.

Burns put the Sharks up with two quick strikes in a 22-second span to start the second. He tied the game on the power play by unleashing a slap shot from the right point 21 seconds into the frame and then beat Holtby with a rising wrister from the left circle for a 2-1 game.

Brouwer made it a 2-2 game for a power-play goal by tipping Alex Ovechkin's left-circle blast at 6:17 of the middle stanza.

The Sharks regained the lead on Couture's wraparound with 5:12 left in the second.

Game Notes

Following Monday's trade from Tampa Bay, Sharks netminder Evgeni Nabokov officially announced his retirement on Wednesday. He dropped the puck prior to the game ... The Sharks were without defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body) for a third consecutive game Justin Braun (broken left hand) for a ninth straight contest ... Couture extended his point streak to four games.