WASHINGTON -- San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones surrendered a goal on the first shot he faced on opening night.

Since then? Nothing.

Jones stopped 31 shots for his second consecutive shutout, and the Sharks kicked off a four-game road trip by blanking the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals 5-0 on Tuesday night.

"We gave up some quality chances -- not a lot -- but the handful of chances we gave up early in the game were quality," DeBoer said. "Guys in alone. He made a couple of big saves. If they score on those, it is probably a different game."

Left winger Matt Nieto and center Chris Tierney each had an empty-net goal and an assist. Center Joe Thornton, right winger Mike Brown and center Tomas Hertl also scored for San Jose (3-0-0). Left winger Barclay Goodrow contributed two assists.

Ovechkin missed the game for personal reasons after also missing the Capitals' morning skate and not taking part in the pregame warmup. Washington was already without his linemate, center Nicklas Backstrom, who is recovering from offseason hip surgery.

"You can't really replace guys like that. For us, we were just worried about our game. It didn't really matter who was in the lineup," Jones said. "I thought we did a great job executing. When we did get the lead, we were really strong defensively."

Washington coach Barry Trotz declined to elaborate after the game on Ovechkin's absence, but expects him back for Thursday's game.

The Capitals went 0-for-4 on the power play, and the Sharks are 11-for-11 on the penalty kill through three games, thanks in no small part to Jones.

"We know he's been there. It gives us confidence," forward Joe Pavelski said of Jones, who played the last two seasons with the Kings.

"Obviously, we don't want to give him a couple of looks that we've given him over the past couple of games, but when he makes that save it allows us to continue with the pressure. That's what's happened the last few games."

Goalie Braden Holtby had 27 saves for Washington.

Washington appeared to pull within 3-1 midway through the second period when defenseman Dmitry Orlov blasted a loose puck past Jones from high in the slot. DeBoer challenged the play, however, and after a review the ruling was that center Jay Beagle interfered with Jones and the goal was disallowed.

"I can't take any credit for that, but it was a great catch by our group at a big time," DeBoer said. "That was a turning point, that goal called back."

Trotz thought his team was beginning to turn the game around.

"We were frustrating ourselves with our own play in the first part, and then we started getting a little momentum, and you're hoping that goal (helps) and (that) you're sort of able to grab onto something, and we weren't able to," he said. "They called it back, and it wasn't a goal."

The Sharks outshot the Capitals 17-8 in the opening period thanks to a 3-0 advantage in power plays.

San Jose converted during their second man advantage when Thornton tipped in a Brent Burns shot from the point to make it 1-0.

The Sharks added two more in the second period.

Holtby made the initial save on a rush by Tierney, but Brown was alone in front and banged the rebound home at 2:36.

Just under five minutes later, San Jose made it 3-0 on another second-chance goal, this time when Hertl swept home the rebound after Holtby made the initial save on center Tommy Wingels.

"That's a very skilled team, a team that's playing very good hockey and we got exposed the first half of the game," Holtby said. "Myself and our team, we were a step slow, not communicating well."

The game was a homecoming for Sharks right winger Joel Ward, who spent four seasons with Washington before signing with San Jose in the offseason.

NOTES: In addition to LW Alex Ovechkin (personal reasons), the Capitals scratched D Taylor Chorney. ... RW Ben Smith and D Dylan Demelo were the San Jose scratches. ... The Sharks' four-game road trip continues Friday night at New Jersey, where San Jose coach Peter DeBoer coached for 3 1/2 seasons -- reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 2012 -- before being let go last December. ... Washington hosts the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. ... San Jose D Paul Martin played his 700th NHL game. ... Washington D John Carlson played his 400th NHL game, including the last 380 in a row.