Washington @ San Jose preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 14, 2019 ) Washington 5, San Jose 1

The San Jose Sharks limped out of the blocks to start the season before getting up to speed in a hurry, winning 11 of their last 13 games to tie a franchise record for the most victories in November. The Sharks hope to carry over that success to December when they host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

"We're getting there," San Jose captain Logan Couture said. "To dig out of that early hole we put ourselves in takes a lot. We're playing some good hockey, and that was the goal." The 30-year-old Couture answered a brief four-game point drought with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in his last dozen games, including two goals in the Sharks 4-2 victory over Arizona on Saturday. While San Jose flipped the script, Washington has penned a classic by highlighting a scintillating 16-2-3 run with Alex Ovechkin's 24th career regular-season hat trick in Saturday's 5-2 win in Detroit. The Capitals will finish their four-game trek in California, with all three contests played in four nights.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington, NBCS California (San Jose)

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (19-4-5): Washington is expected to see the return of speedy forward Carl Hagelin on Tuesday and could also have Nicklas Backstrom in the fold, although it's uncertain if it will be against San Jose or in Wednesday's contest versus Los Angeles. "We'll see how things go again (Tuesday) morning and continue to progress day-by-day here," coach Todd Reirden said of the 32-year-old Backstrom, who has been out with an upper-body injury since Nov. 18. "We're heading in the right direction and whether that's (Tuesday) or L.A., we'll play it day-by-day." Hagelin, who has been sidelined with an upper-body injury on Nov. 7, skated with Richard Panik and Travis Boyd during Monday's practice.

ABOUT THE SHARKS (15-12-1): Martin Jones has fueled San Jose's recent surge, claiming NHL Third Star of the Week honors on Monday after posting a 3-0-0 mark with a 1.98 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in his last three appearances. The 29-year-old won 10 games in November, tying the franchise record for victories in any calendar month with Evgeni Nabokov (December 2007, March 2008) and Antti Niemi (February 2011). Evander Kane scored five of his team-leading 12 goals in the first seven games of November before being limited to just four assists over his last eight contests.

OVERTIME

1. Washington C Evgeny Kuznetsov's 15th career three-assist performance boosted his point total to 19 (six goals, 13 assists) in his last 13 games.

2. San Jose boasts the NHL's top-ranked penalty kill (91.0 percent).

3. Capitals C Jakub Vrana has two goals and three assists during his four-game point streak.

PREDICTION: Sharks 4, Capitals 3