Power play comes through in victory over Capitals

For the Sharks to enjoy any measure of success on this long, nine-game road trip, their special teams are going to have to be, well, special.

That was not the case on Sunday during the trip's opener when San Jose not only went 0-for-4 on the power play, but allowed a pair of 5-on-3 goals while short-handed. No wonder the Sharks left St. Louis with a loss, and needed fortunes to change one night later in the nation's capital.

That's exactly what happened as San Jose clicked on the power play again, going 3-for-6, en route to a 5-3 win that evened the team's early-trip record to 1-1. And it marked a resumption of recent success on the power play, which is going to be vital not only for the remainder of the long trek but well into the postseason as well.

"We've been really supportive of what they've been doing lately until (Sunday) night," coach Todd McLellan said of the power play. "The message changed, obviously. They had to see some of the negatives. It was a real good sign of leadership to bounce back the way they did."

Two of forward Joe Pavelski's four points came during man-advantage time.

"You don't want to go 0-2 on a nine-game trip, things can start snowballing and it doesn't get any easier," Pavelski said. "You take the wins when you can get them."

Pavelski continues to be a huge contributor to the Sharks' attack, which has struggled to find consistency through the first 54 games. Pavelski, however, has scored 22 goals and 44 points.

"Last year he spent a fair amount of time on our third line, just the way our team was built," McLellan said. "He's benefitted on the power play this year by playing with some more creative guys.

"Pavs is a very reliable guy, both ends of the rink," he added. "For as much as he's reaching career highs in goals he does some real good things defensively as well."

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