San Jose took advantage of sloppy play by St. Louis early on to defeat the 6-3 and clinch a winning record on a tough road trip. Joe Thornton, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture found the back of the net twice apiece and Martin Jones made enough saves as the Sharks got revenge for Ryan Reaves‘ hit on Matt Tennyson on the scoreboard.
A five minute 5-on-4 major penalty combined with a two minute minor gave the Sharks all the opportunity they needed on the power play. San Jose scored two of its first three goals on the man-advantage against the team with the highest penalty kill percentage in the NHL. After the Sharks’ second power-play goal, Brian Elliott was forced to leave the game with a lower-body injury.
Thornton kept the Blues at bay in the third period, scoring a pair of goals to give San Jose some much needed insurance. His incredible season continues as he had a four-point night.
San Jose wrapped up the first period with a 3-1 advantage thanks to a pair of power-play goals (and Hertl’s early tally). David Backes and the Blues got back into the game with a power-play goal of their own late on in the frame. The Sharks led 17-7 in shots, with the majority of those coming on the man-advantage.
Special teams played a big part in the second period as well, as Vladimir Tarasenko cut the Sharks lead to just one goal — albeit for only a few seconds. Couture scored his second of the night to push San Jose’s lead back to 4-2 and set up #HatTrickWatch in the third period.
Joe Thornton stretched San Jose’s lead to three goals again in the third period, but the Blues struck back midway through the frame to set up an interesting finish. Jones played well enough to keep the Sharks alive and San Jose got out of St. Louis with a win.
Sharks goals (assists): Tomas Hertl (Thornton, Pavelski), Hertl (Donskoi, Vlasic), Couture (Thornton, Burns), Couture (Karlsson, Vlasic), Thornton, Thornton (Couture)
[Fancy Stats] – [Blues Reaction] – [TOI Log] – [Faceoff Report] – [Event Summary] – [PBP Log]
Fear the Fin’s Three Stars
1) Joe Thornton
2) Logan Couture
3) Tomas Hertl
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