San Jose Sharks Get Back On Track With Win Over Panthers

The San Jose Sharks struck early on Thursday night, scoring two first-period goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at SAP Center.

Five different players found the back of the net for San Jose in Florida’s fourth straight defeat. Backup goaltender Alex Stalock got the start over Martin Jones, who surrendered four goals to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets in Tuesday’s loss. The Sharks had dropped six of their last eight games entering Thursday’s tilt against Florida. They needed to buck that trend, and they were able to do so with a much better all-around effort.

Brent Burns netted an unassisted goal early in the first frame. The 30-year-old defenseman now has four goals and six assists for 10 points on the season. He’s picking right where he left off in terms of offensive production from last year.

Rookie winger Joonas Donskoi potted his second career goal halfway through the first period, giving the Sharks an early 2-0 lead. Florida’s Vincent Trocheck answered back less than two minutes later, scoring his fifth of the year and cutting San Jose’s lead to one.

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Patrick Marleau scored the eventual game-winner in the second period, with linemates Joel Ward and Tomas Hertl picking up the assists. It was Marleau’s 997th career point, inching him closer to becoming the first ever Sharks player to score 1,000 points with the franchise.

A power-play tally for Panthers forward Brandon Pirri brought Florida back within one, but Marc-Edouard Vlasic netted his first goal of the season with a minute left in the period to give the Sharks a 4-2 lead. Nikolay Goldobin, who was called up from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda on Thursday morning, picked up his first career assist on the play.

Chris Tierney‘s empty-netter at 18:54 of the third period sealed the win for San Jose, who climbed back over the .500 mark.

For the first time this season, Stalock looked strong between the pipes. The 28-year-old netminder made 31 saves on 33 shots, posting his highest save percentage of the year at .939. Stalock had allowed nine goals over his previous two starts, and had shown little indication that he should be around next season. This was a big start for him and the rest of his Sharks teammates to hopefully build some much needed confidence.

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The Sharks improved to 7-6 on the season, placing them third in the Pacific Division with 14 points. They’ll host the Anaheim Ducks (3-7-2) on Saturday night in a pivotal showdown.

San Jose hasn’t won two games in a row since opening the season with four straight victories. That’s another pattern the team will aim to alter.