San Jose Sharks vs Washington Capitals: 3 things we learned as Sharks beat the Caps 4-1

The San Jose Sharks upset the Washington Capitals 4-1 at the Capital One Arena on Sunday afternoon. The home defeat marks a rough start to a big week for the Capitals as they head to Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday to play in the Stadium Series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Tomas Hertl, Erik Karlsson, Alexander Barabonov and Evgeny Svechnikov all scored for San Jose in the win, while Evgeny Kuznetsov was the lone scorer for the Capitals.

The Sharks split time in the net between Aaron Dell and Kaapo Kahkonen. Kahkonene allowed the single goal on 13 shots before leaving the game. Dell came out in relief and shut down the Capitals, stopping all eight shots faced.

Here are three things we learned from the NHL game.

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Sharks shock Caps on Super Bowl Sunday

#1 The Capitals' skid continues

Pittsburgh Penguins v Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals have been ice cold since before the All-Star Break. That trend continued on Sunday afternoon against the San Jose Sharks. The Capitals were unable to find a consistent offense against one of the most unmotivated sides in the league.

The Capitals' struggle to find a decent backup for goaltender Darcy Kuemper continued as Charlie Lindgren gave up three goals on 32 shots. The Capitals had one more penalty than San Jose, but it played a key difference and led to a Barabonov goal.

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#2 San Jose's new youth movement

San Jose v Tampa Bay

The best outcome of San Jose exiting the All-Star break has been the development their new youth movement has shown on the ice. Goal scorers for the Sharkies against an excellent Eastern Conference side? Quality depth pieces by Alexander Barabanov and Evgeny Svechnikov found the back of the net in the win against Washington.

Jonah Gadjovic joined in as the key passer in the opening Evgeny Svechnikov goal. San Jose has to be pleased with the variety of players that ended up on the scoresheet.

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#3 Erik Karlsson’s trade value

Dallas v San Jose

San Jose could have upped Erik Karlsson’s trade value with the win. Erik Karlsson scored the third goal for San Jose to open up the third period. Karlsson also had his 54th and 55th assists of the season as he turned provider for the Sharks' first two goals.

If San Jose indeed pursues a move for Erik Karlsson, performances like Sunday’s will go a long way in the Sharks maximizing their assets. With the Jakob Chychrun trade going down later in the day and the Kings picking up at least one top-10 pick for Chychrun, the asking price for Karlsson should start somewhere in that ballpark, if not more.