WASHINGTON -- The San Jose Sharks wanted to stop their losing skid and begin a six-game road trip with a strong performance. They accomplished both objectives Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals.

Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns each scored as the San Jose Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Goalie Martin Jones, pulled early in the Sharks' 5-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, rebounded Tuesday and finished with 24 saves. He got plenty of help from his defense, which frustrated Washington on numerous scoring chances.

San Jose (7-6-0) ended Washington's five-game winning streak. The Capitals (8-3-1) were blanked for the first time this season.

"We played well throughout the whole game," Jones said. "That was a big win for us (to) kind of right the ship a little bit. We thought we've had moments where we've been good, and today everything kind of came our way."

The Sharks repeatedly stopped the Capitals with the work of Jones and that defense.

San Jose blocked 21 shots overall, held the potent Washington offense to 24 shots on net and often cleared the puck from near the crease to help Jones. That kept the game close early and let the Sharks take command later.

In addition, they killed off all three Washington power plays.

"Real commitment to defend by everybody, great goaltending when we needed it, and some timely goals," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're killing (penalties) with a lot of confidence right now and want to keep that up."

Washington coach Barry Trotz wasn't upset with the way his team played in the loss. He also felt the Capitals missed their scoring chances -- and there were a bunch.

"For the most part I thought it was a close game," Trotz said. "I didn't think we played poorly at all. I didn't think we converted on some chances. They did a really good job defending, so you had to really fight to get in the interior."

The Sharks scored a 5-0 victory over Washington last Oct. 13 in their lone trip to the nation's capital in the 2015-16 season. Jones also was the goalie in that victory. San Jose now holds a 25-9-2-1 all-time record vs. the Capitals.

Neither team scored in the first period Tuesday, which ended with San Jose holding a 9-4 edge in shots as Washington did find some good chances but couldn't convert.

The Capitals tied a season low with the four shots, although two of their better opportunities came on short-handed situations.

Washington stepped up the pace in the second period, especially early, putting lots of pressure on Jones and the San Jose defense, but the Sharks stood firm and got on the board first.

Vlasic scored on a slap shot with 7:37 left in the middle period. The shot changed direction, hitting Washington defenseman Karl Alzner as he was battling former Capital Joel Ward between the faceoff circles.

Joe Pavelski and Thornton got the assists.

Burns made it 2-0 with 2:34 remaining in the period, putting a wrist shot past goalie Braden Holtby from the right circle after a pass from Logan Couture.

Paul Martin earned the other assist.

"You've just got to keep working," Burns said. "It's good to get a couple of them in there. Good first game on the trip."

Washington again stepped up the pressure in the first part of the third period and again later, but Thornton's empty-net goal with 1:32 left closed it out. Ward got the assist after a quick clearing pass.

Holtby finished with 20 saves and said he saw both goals fine.

"It just happened to be that they got those kind of fortunate bounces that hadn't been going their way the last few games, and they went their way tonight," Holtby said. "That's just hockey."

NOTES: The Capitals and Sharks meet once more this season, on March 9 in San Jose. ... Washington starts a three-game road trip Friday at Chicago. The Capitals then visit Carolina and Columbus before returning home on Nov. 16 to begin a five-game homestand. ... San Jose plays at Florida on Thursday. ... Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin is trying to become the 37th player to earn 1,000 points with one team. He needs 23 more to reach that goal. ... San Jose RW Kevin Labanc was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, and the 20-year old made his NHL debut. He finished plus-1 in 13:23 of ice time.