Sharks pummel Devils, extend playoff lead
SAN JOSE — San Jose Sharks territory received a double dose of excitement Tuesday.
First, news broke that Joe Thornton resumed skating last week. Then, the Sharks went out and extended their winning streak to a season high five games by stomping all over the New Jersey Devils (37-28-8) in a 6-2 win at SAP Center.
With the win, the Sharks pushed their lead over the Los Angeles Kings for second place in the Pacific Division to four points while regaining a five-point edge over the fourth place Anaheim Ducks.
The Sharks carried the momentum of their 3-0 road trip through Western Canada into the first period, jumping out to an early 3-1 lead.
Eric Fehr scored the opening goal at 5:32 of the first when defenseman Will Butcher lunged forward with his stick to block his shot from the side of the net, redirecting the puck into the top shelf from a sharp angle. Paul Martin earned the primary assist, his first NHL point of the season.
Joe Pavelski scored his 19th goal on a Sharks power play at 12:25, tipping in a shot from Kevin Labanc. Jannik Hansen capped off the Sharks first period goal parade, giving his team a 3-1 lead by jumping on Dylan DeMelo’s backhanded flip into the neutral zone and scoring his first goal of the season on a half-breakaway. Hansen’s last goal came nearly one year ago on March 30, 2017.
DeMelo earned his 10th point of the month with the assist.
The Sharks continued to light the lamp in the second, adding three more goals on seven shots. Barclay
Goodrow completed the hat trick for the Sharks fourth line, joining Fehr and Hansen on the scoresheet by recording his seventh on a two-on-one play at 10:38 with help from Brenden Dillon.
Dillon also picked up the lone assist on the Sharks fifth tally, Logan Couture’s team-leading 30th goal of the season at 11:18 of the middle frame. Mikkel Boedker scored the Sharks second power play goal with 1:40 left in the period, firing the puck into the top-left corner from the right faceoff dot. Brent Burns earned his second point on the game on the goal while Chris Tierney picked up the secondary assist.
The Sharks third-ranked penalty kill played a role early in the game, killing off back-to-back penalties to DeMelo and Melker Karlsson, including 1:21 of 5-on-3 play. Martin Jones, who made 26 stops in the win, proved to be the Sharks best penalty killer during the two-man advantage, making five saves. The penalty kill finished the night with perfect marks, going 4 for 4.
Taylor Hall scored the Devils first goal at 11:19 off the first, grabbing a puck that was bouncing in Justin Braun’s skates and converting ensuing breakaway chance. Blake Coleman added another Devils in garbage time with 1:36 left on the clock.
Before the Sharks improved to 8-2 since the Evander Kane trade, head coach Pete DeBoer gave the fan base a dose of optimism by confirming that Thornton skated for the first time since he injured his right medial collateral ligament last week.
Thornton, who’s been sidelined since Jan. 23, also skated with his son at Solar4America Ice after the Sharks morning practice Tuesday. The 38-year skated lightly for roughly 20 minutes. At one point, he cranked up the speed and took several hard strides, skating from the blue line down to the other end of the rink.
“He has been on the ice. Real preliminary,” DeBoer said Tuesday morning. “First of a lot of steps to go.”
Thornton declined a request to be interviewed for this story.
The veteran forward’s return to the ice doesn’t guarantee that he’ll rejoin the team this season, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction for a player with a history of making speedy recoveries from serious-knee injuries.
General manager Doug Wilson said last month that he expects Thornton to return this season largely because the alternate captain played four Stanley Cup playoff games last spring with a pair of torn ligaments in his left knee. He also skated on the first day of training camp last fall less than five months after undergoing surgery to repair the damage suffered on April 2, 2017.
Wilson said that Thornton is working on his own timetable, and his return to skates this week, suggests he’s hitting his mark. Last week, the Mercury News noted that Thornton would likely need to get on the ice by mid-March to give himself a chance to suit up for a regular season game and be ready for the playoffs, which kick off on April 11.