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National Hockey League
San Jose 4, Washington 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Referees: Jean Hebert, Dean Morton
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Ryan Daisy
Attendance: 18573

Noah Gregor snapped a 20-game goal drought, Nicolas Meloche scored his first NHL goal and James Reimer made 32 saves as the visiting San Jose Sharks beat the struggling Washington Capitals 4-1 on Wednesday night.

A pair of unlikely goal-scorers plus Jonathan Dahlen's late goal and Andrew Cogliano's empty-netter helped San Jose avoid a third consecutive defeat overall and win for the third time in four road games. Reimer, who was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots in the first period of a 7-1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, was solid all night.

The Capitals trailed 2-0 after two periods but cut that deficit in half 14 seconds into the third when Daniel Sprong scored his seventh goal of the season, beating Reimer after an offensive-zone faceoff win by Nicklas Backstrom.

However, the Capitals couldn't get another puck past Reimer and dropped back-to-back games in regulation for the first time since April 6-8, 2021. Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves for Washington, which is 3-6-2 in 2022 and had its 6-0-1 stretch against the Sharks come to an end.

The Sharks took the play to the Capitals from the opening faceoff and were rewarded 7:41 into the game. Following a center-ice turnover by the Capitals, Brent Burns hit Gregor with a back-door pass, and Gregor easily buried it for his first goal since Nov. 30.

San Jose made it 2-0 at 3:58 into the second period. On the return rush after Washington failed to convert a 4-on-1 chance, Matt Nieto found Meloche, whose snap shot beat Samsonov.

Dahlen's ninth goal of the season with 3:09 remaining in the third period put San Jose ahead 3-1. Timo Meier earned an assist on the play to extend his road point streak to seven games.

Cogliano's empty-netter snapped his 12-game goal drought.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
San Jose   Washington
Andrew Cogliano 1 Points Daniel Sprong 1
Andrew Cogliano 1 Goals Daniel Sprong 1
Alexander Barabanov 1 Assists Nicklas Backstrom 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
James Reimer .970 Save Percentage Ilya Samsonov .897
James Reimer 32 Saves Ilya Samsonov 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
San Jose 30 4 0-1 3-3 11 32
Washington 33 1 0-3 1-1 7 27
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Capitals have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .650 after a loss.
  • San Jose will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Sharks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .524 after a loss.