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Capitals Game Day

Capitals vs. Sharks: Lines, Tale of the Tape, Players To Watch

After a stunning win in Boston, the Washington Capitals head home for another afternoon matinee with the San Jose Sharks. Here’s everything to know before puck drop.

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Less than 22 hours after a huge win over the top-ranked Boston Bruins, the Washington Capitals are right back at it for another matinee showdown, this time against the San Jose Sharks.

It'll be another critical matchup for Washington, who is looking to maintain its playoff position with the race getting tighter.

Here's everything to know before puck drop.

Washington Capitals vs. San Jose Sharks: Lines

Head coach Peter Laviolette hinted at lineup changes with the Capitals having played less than a day beforehand. Anthony Mantha is ill and will not play.

Here are the lines:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Sonny Milano-Nicklas Backstrom-Marcus Johansson

Conor Sheary-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie

Aliaksei Protas-Lars Eller-Garnet Hathaway

Erik Gustafsson-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Dmitry Orlov-Nick Jensen

Matt Irwin-Martin Fehervary

Charlie Lindgren will start after Darcy Kuemper's standout performance in Boston.

Washington Capitals vs. San Jose Sharks: Tale of the Tape

The Capitals (28-20-6) are coming off one of their most impressive performances of the 2022-23 campaign in Boston, as they maintained the lead for a full 60 minutes and outlasted the league's best team in its own building while handing the Bruins just their second regulation loss at home all season. It was a good way to shake off the rust, but there were also areas that Washington wanted to improve on, including the power play that went 1-for-4. Going into Sunday, the Capitals know that the quick turnaround against San Jose won't be easy, and it'll require the same effort that they showed the day before.

Key stats for Washington: 20.6 PP% (19th), 81.9 PK% (7th), 3.09 GF/G (18th), 2.80 GA/G (10th)

For the Sharks (16-26-11), the road hasn't been easy this season, as they second to last in the Pacific and are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games. However, they have won two of the last three and haa big overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in their first game after the break before dropping a tough 4-1 decision to the Florida Panthers back on Thursday. Still, there are several positives to look at, including Erik Karlsson's resurgence and the penalty kill.

Key stats for San Jose: 20% (20th), 82.5 PK% (5th), 3.00 GF/G (20th), 3.74 GA/G (28th)

Washington Capitals vs. San Jose Sharks: Players To Watch

Nicklas Backstrom is the biggest name to watch for the Capitals coming into Sunday. He has points in three of his last four games, including two goals, an assist and a shootout winner, and he has been looking better with each game since his remarkable return from hip resurfacing surgery. Marcus Johansson is also on a four-game point streak, and Garnet Hathaway has goals in back-to-back games. And of course, Alex Ovechkin is still in pursuit of Wayne Gretzky and is looking to add to his 32-goal campaign.

On the Sharks' side of the coin, Karlsson is the top name to look out for. He leads San Jose with 70 points through 53 games and has points in three straight and in four of his last five outings overall. Three of those four games were multi-point performances. Logan Couture is also having quite the hot streak of late, as he had a five-point performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins back on Jan. 28 and has found the scoresheet in three of his last five contests. Also watch for trade target Timo Meier, who hit the 50-point mark this season and has four points in his last five games. Tomas Hertl is also a name to monitor.

How To Tune In

D.C. fans can catch the action on NBC Sports Washington and turn the dial to 106.7 The Fan or Caps Radio 24/7, while San Jose fans can watch on NBC Sports California & Bay Area or listen on the Sharks + SAP Center App.

Puck drop is at 1:30 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.