This Date in Caps History - February 9
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PrintOn February 9, 1992 Washington played its first-ever game against the expansion San Jose Sharks and defeated the newest NHL club by a 6-2 score at USAir Arena. A sellout crowd of 18,130 witnessed the Sunday matinee game.
John Druce got the Capitals started early when he netted his 11th goal of the season at the 48-second mark of the first period. Druce made it 2-0 when he beat San Jose goaltender Jeff Hackett at 11:24 of the first. Exactly four minutes later, Mike Ridley netted his fourth of the year to close out the first period scoring. The Caps held a decided 18-6 advantage in shots on goal in the first frame.
At 2:42 of the second, Druce completed his hat trick to give Washington a 4-0 lead. Michal Pivonka assisted on all three Druce goals. Brian Lawton scored for San Jose at the 5:00 mark and Mike Sullivan followed up with another just 34 seconds later to halve the Washington lead at 4-2. Kevin Hatcher netted a power play goal at 12:04 with Pivonka picking up his fourth assist of the contest. Ridley closed out the scoring with his second of the game at 16:11.
The Caps outshot San Jose 10-8 in the second period; the two teams each had 11 shots in the scoreless third. Washington outshot the Sharks by a 39-23 margin on the afternoon.
