Sharks 2, Hurricanes 0
Troy Grosenick made 45 saves in his NHL debut and Tomas Hertl scored late in the first period as visiting San Jose edged Carolina.
Joe Thornton sealed the win with an empty-net goal to extend his point streak to six games for the Sharks, who improved to 3-3-0 on their seven-game road trip while snapping a four-game winless skid versus the Hurricanes (0-3-1). Barclay Goodrow notched an assist for his first career NHL point.
Anton Khudobin turned aside 17 shots to remain winless (0-4-2) for the Hurricanes, who have scored just two goals en route to losing three straight. Nathan Gerbe unleashed a team-high seven shots and Carolina failed to convert on both power-play opportunities.
With Antti Niemi making his fourth straight start on Saturday and backup Alex Stalock placed on injured reserve, Grosenick was recalled from Worcester of the American Hockey League. The 25-year-old was tested out of the gate with 16 shots in the first period and became the first goaltender to record a shutout in his NHL debut since Anaheim's John Gibson blanked Vancouver on April 7.
Despite being heavily outshot in the first period, San Jose drew first blood with 1:14 remaining in the session after a determined play by Hertl. The second-year star regained possession of the puck after his attempted feed to Thornton was denied by Carolina defenseman Andrej Sereka and beat Khudobin from in close for his fourth goal.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Carolina RW Alexander Semin (upper body) and D Jay Harrison (lower body) each sat out for the second straight contest. ... Hurricanes C Riley Nash won 12-of-19 faceoff draws. ... A moment of silence was observed prior to the game to honor Sgt. Michael Cathcart, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on Friday. Cathcart skated with the Hurricanes at Fort Bragg, N.C. last spring.