By Taylor Lupetti (@tayclupetti ):
The San Jose Sharks were shut out 2-0 by the Washington Capitals in game five of their six- game home stay.
Both San Jose (36-23-9) and Washington (38-23-7) had 24 shots on goal but Sharks goalie Martin Jones couldn’t protect two pucks from going in the back of his net.
Washington goaltender Philipp Grubauer put up a strong front against San Jose and earned his second shutout of the season.
The game remained scoreless until Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom scored on a slap shot with 90 seconds left in the second period, and that was enough to win it.
An empty netter by center Lars Eller in the last two minutes of the game pushed Washington to its final score of 2-0.
The shutout win pushed the Capitals back to first place in the Metropolitan Division. Despite the loss, the Sharks are still holding strong as No. 2 in the Pacific Division.
The Capitals end their California road trip 1-2 after losing to both the LA Kings and the Anaheim Ducks.
The Sharks will end their six games at home on Monday at 7:30 p.m. against the Detroit Red Wings.