Sharks 4, Coyotes 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Matt Tennyson, Chris Tierney, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi each scored a goal and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Saturday night at SAP Center.
Goaltender Martin Jones made 22 saves for the Sharks (29-20-5) and beat Arizona for the second time this season.
Rookie goaltender Louis Domingue, playing for the second straight night, gave up three goals on 27 shots for Arizona (25-24-6).
Center Martin Hanzal scored for the Coyotes.
With 63 points, the Sharks remained in second place in the Pacific Division, seven behind the first-place Los Angeles Kings and one ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, who defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime. Arizona trails Anaheim by six points.
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead into the third period and Hertl made it 3-1 at 10:58 when he redirected a long shot by defenseman Brent Burns past Domingue.
Hertl's goal came 21 seconds after he deflected defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic's shot from the point past Domingue. That goal was disallowed because Hertl's stick was too high when he made contact with the puck.
Donskoi added an empty-net goal on a power play with 1:19 left.
The Coyotes had only one shot in the third period.
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead just 2:59 into the game when Tennyson scored his second goal of the season. Tennyson, starting for the second straight game in place of injured defenseman Brenden Dillon, sent a wrist shot from above the left circle near the blue line that beat Domingue through the five-hole.
Sharks forward Dainius Zubru and Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy battled for position inside and appeared to screen Domingue from the shot.
Tierney increased San Jose's lead to 2-0 at 18:56 of the first period, scoring his seventh goal of the season. Tierney established position behind Coyotes defenseman Oliver Eckman-Larsson near the crease, took a pass from Burns and lifted the puck over Domingue's right pad.
The Coyotes outshot the Sharks 10-9 in the first period, but Jones stopped every shot he faced.
Hanzal cut San Jose's lead to 2-1 at 1:58 of the second period, beating Jones with a shot from the left circle on a breakaway, banking the puck off the right post.
The goal was Hanzal's eighth of the season and second in three games. It came just over 30 seconds after Jones survived a barrage of prime scoring chances from Arizona on a power play.
The shots were even at 22 after two periods.
NOTES: Sharks D Brenden Dillon (upper body) missed his second straight game. He skated Saturday morning and is day to day. D Matt Tennyson filled in again for Dillon and skated with D Dylan DeMelo on the third pair. ... Coyotes C Boyd Gordon (upper body) missed his fourth straight game. ... Coyotes G Mike Smith (abdominal surgery) skated Saturday morning but missed his 27th straight game. ... The Sharks honored San Jose Barracuda coach Roy Sommer in a pregame ceremony. Sommer set an American Hockey League record Wednesday with his 637th victory, passing Fred "Bun" Cook. Sommer posted his 638th win Saturday afternoon at SAP Center. ... Arizona RW Viktor Tikhonov was a healthy scratch for the third straight game as the Coyotes continued to have seven defensemen in their lineup. Coyotes D Jarred Tinordi was also a healthy scratch. ... Sharks RW Mike Brown and D Mirco Mueller were healthy scratches.