Sharks 3, Coyotes 0
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- James Reimer pitched his second shutout as a member of the Sharks, leading San Jose to a 3-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday at SAP Center.
Reimer turned away 25 shots for his 13th career shutout as the Sharks won for the fourth time in six games to again move within one point of second-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division. The Ducks beat the Winnipeg Jets in overtime earlier Sunday.
Acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, Reimer blanked the Edmonton Oilers during his second start with San Jose on March 8. He had gone 98 starts between shutouts, as his previous came on Oct. 29, 2013, as a member of the Maple Leafs.
Forwards Joel Ward, Tomas Hertl and captain Joe Pavelski provided the goals as San Jose improved to 16-15-3 on home ice by winning its second game in as many days to open a season-long six-game homestand.
The Sharks (41-25-6) scored the only goal of the second period to take a 2-0 lead into the third.
San Jose managed to solve Arizona's stingy penalty kill, which was a perfect 18-for-18 spanning six games until it was asked to play short-handed at 11:05 of the middle period as a result of center Boyd Gordon holding San Jose winger Melker Karlsson.
And has been the case of late, it was San Jose's second power-play unit that converted. Hertl scored his 18th goal of the season 57 seconds into the advantage when his centering attempt caromed off the stick of Arizona defenseman Connor Murphy and between the pads of Coyotes goalie Mike Smith at 12:02.
It marked the first power-play goal allowed by Arizona since March 7 at Colorado.
The Sharks had to be strong on the penalty kill to keep their early lead. San Jose killed a combined 5:22 of Coyotes power play time spread over three advantages before the hosts received their first five-on-four.
Arizona (31-34-7) enjoyed a 39-second five-on-three late in the first period when San Jose's Patrick Marleau high-sticked Antoine Vermette to join defenseman Justin Braun in the box. Defensemen Brent Burns, Paul Martin and Ward snuffed out the two-man advantage, and Arizona managed only one shot of the remaining 1:22 of a five-on-four.
Using the successful kill as momentum, the Sharks broke through at 18:28 of the first period to snap the scoreless tie.
Ward scored his third goal in two games when he was credited with his 20th on a shot by defenseman Brenden Dillon that ricocheted past Smith. Ward was battling Arizona defenseman Klas Dahlbeck in the slot as Dillon let his wrist shot go from the left point.
Pavelski scored his 34th goal into an empty net at 18:55 of the third period. Brent Burns set a franchise mark for a defenseman with his 65th point on an assist, and Joe Thornton collected the second assist. He has a point in each of San Jose's past 28 wins.
Smith finished with 33 saves.
NOTES: The Sharks were without D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (right leg) and LW Matt Nieto (broken knuckle) for a second consecutive game. ... San Jose next plays the third of a season-long six-game homestand Tuesday when it hosts the St. Louis Blues. ... The Coyotes entertain the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday to open a four-game homestand. ... Arizona D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (upper body) and D Nicklas Grossmann remain day-to-day. ... LW Jiri Sekac and LW Sergei Plotnikov were healthy scratches for the Coyotes, while D Matt Tennyson did not dress for the Sharks. ... The game drew a crowd of 15,756.