In what seemed like the first time in a long time, the Sharks started Aaron Dell in the second of back-to-back games. It payed off, as the Sharks (16-11-1) beat the Hurricanes (11-11-6) 4-3 in their last home game before heading out for a road trip on Tuesday.

The Sharks jumped the gun early and scored just 12 seconds in to the game. Marleau buried a perfect one-time feed from Thornton right in front of the net for the early lead.

Carolina would answer very quickly. On the power play, Lee Stempniak found the back of the net following a nice pass from Teravainen. The scoring barrage wouldn’t end there. Hungry for more, the Sharks caught a lucky break on their second goal. Paul Martin’s shot bounced off a Carolina defender in front and past goaltender Cam Ward. That goal was Martin’s first of the season.

Carolina’s top ranked penalty kill got themselves back into the game in the second. A diving Brent Burns was unable to stop Nordstrom’s break, and he put it past Dell to tie the game. The Sharks continued the pattern of quick scoring just 1:16 later. Logan Couture’s tip in front was redirected past Cam Ward for his 11th goal of the year.

Kevin Labanc stayed hot tonight, scoring his 2nd goal in as many games on the Sharks’ 4th goal of the game. He was ready for a juicy rebound, as he popped it into the wide open net. San Jose took a 4-2 lead into the 3rd period.

Carolina’s massive shot advantage overwhelmed the Sharks early in the third period, as another power play turned in to another goal for the Hurricanes. Derek Ryan scored to cut the Sharks lead to 4-3. The Sharks managed to hold off the desperate Hurricanes in the final seconds to get the win.

Notes

• Vlasic left the game in the second period and did not return. We’ll let you know the status of his injury relatively soon. Hopefully it is nothing too serious.
• The Sharks continued to struggle in the faceoff circle. They went a poor 23/46, or 43%.
• Yep, it’s official. The Sharks can’t score more than 4 goals in a game.
• Tonight’s win was a major milestone in franchise history. It’s the 1,000th win all-time!

Fear The Fin Three Stars

1. Joe Thornton
2. Paul Martin
3. Aaron Dell

The Sharks are off until Tuesday when they visit Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs.