San Jose Sharks Down Jets For Third Straight Win

Playing their fourth game in six nights and the second half of a back-to-back, the San Jose Sharks came out and played a solid road game in shutting down the Winnipeg Jets, a team that embarrassed San Jose just 10 days ago.

The Sharks received goals from Chris Tierney, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Joel Ward as San Jose cruised to a 4-1 victory behind the goaltending exploits of Alex Stalock.

For the third straight game, the Sharks got on the scoreboard first as Tierney took advantage of a bad Dustin Byfuglien turnover by cutting to the middle and firing one past the glove of Connor Hellebuyck for his fourth goal of the season, and this one coming shorthanded.

Unfortunately, the lead would be short lived as the Jets power play took advantage of a Justin Braun misplay at the Winnipeg blue line which allowed Drew Stafford to find Nikolaj Ehlers on a two-on-one rush and things were all tied at one.

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It appeared the teams would head into the first intermission knotted up at one, but the Sharks top line would strike with 46 seconds remaining in the first. Pavelski hit Tomas Hertl with a perfect cross ice pass, and Hertl drove the net before having his shot denied by Hellebuyck. However, Thornton was there to bang in the rebound for his ninth goal of the year, and second in consecutive nights, to give San Jose a 2-1 lead after the first 20 minutes.

After a scoreless second period, things heated up in the third period. As the teams traded power play opportunities, the scoreline remained the same until Jets defenseman Tyler Myers took an incredibly dumb penalty on Tommy Wingels. Myers was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Wingels in the head after a fairly normal check in the corner by Wingels.

On the ensuing five-minute power play, the Jets thought they had tied the game up, but a controversial call went against Winnipeg to the benefit of San Jose. Stalock came out to play the puck behind the net and it appeared that Blake Wheeler had stolen the puck off the Sharks netminder and deposited the game-tying goal into the empty net.

However, the referee called Wheeler for tripping and the Sharks were given a five-on-three power play as the Jets crowd voiced their displeasure with the call by throwing litter on to the ice.

San Jose put this game on ice on the power play as Pavelski one-timed a feed from Logan Couture for his 22nd goal of the season and 250th career goal. Ward hit the empty net more than three minutes later as the Sharks avenged their 4-1 defeat at the beginning of January.

It was another big night for San Jose who played much better than they did in Calgary the night before. The Sharks controlled more of the action throughout, and Stalock had one of his best games between the pipes. He finished the night with 21 saves, including a couple of breakaways with the game hanging in the balance.

The Sharks have now won three straight games for the first time since Nov. 22, and they have responded well from their loss to Winnipeg to begin the year, going 3-1-0 since that point.

Next: Sharks Outlast Flames In High Scoring Affair

San Jose returns home where they will play six of their final seven games during the month of January inside the friendly confines of SAP Center. The Sharks have an opportunity to turn around their home woes and make a strong push towards the playoffs.

First up, San Jose will welcome a familiar face as Todd McLellan returns home for the first time since his departing as the Sharks take on the Edmonton Oilers in what should be an emotional contest.