Sharks' Jones makes 26 saves, blanks Devils
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Goalie Martin Jones made 26 stops for his second shutout of the season, and the San Jose Sharks got goals from four skaters en route to a 4-0 win over New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
San Jose returned to SAP Center for the first time since Nov. 5 and snapped a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) to begin a five-game homestand.
Forwards Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and Chris Tierney and defenseman Brent Burns scored goals to support Jones' 15th career shutout and hand the Devils (9-6-3) their third consecutive loss. Burns also recorded an assist.
Coming off a season-long six-game road trip and with only one idle day between games, the Sharks came out surprisingly strong.
San Jose (10-8-1) scored the only two goals of the first period, and the Sharks could have had more if not for several big saves by Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid.
The hosts struck short-handed at 1:59 when Tierney's wrist shot off the rush from the left circle found the back of the net. It was Tierney's first goal of the season.
Marleau capitalized playing alongside new linemates Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski to score his fifth of the season at 6:43. He batted his third attempt, a rebound off Kinkaid's right pad, in for his 486th career goal (48th on the NHL list).
The Sharks continued to control the game in the second period by adding to their lead while outshooting the Devils 16-7 in the middle 20 minutes.
San Jose's struggling power play clicked at 10:33 when Couture wristed a shot from the slot past Kinkaid. Couture's fifth goal of the season snapped a 1-for-23 slump in eight games for the Sharks' power play.
Thornton provided the primary assist on the goal for his 900th point as a Shark and the 1,354th point of his career. His 11th assist of the season moved Thornton past Guy Lafleur and tied him with Brendan Shanahan for 25th place on the career scoring list.
Kinkaid, who shut out the Sharks on March 10 last season during the Devils' most recent visit to San Jose, robbed right winger Mikkel Boedker at 14:18. He finished with 36 saves.
NOTES: The Sharks promoted C Danny O'Regan from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, and he made his NHL debut on Monday. The former Boston University star led the Barracuda in scoring (11 points) and was tied for second with five goals after the first 11 games of his pro career. ... New Jersey was playing without LW Taylor Hall (knee), RW Kyle Palmieri (upper body) and LW Michael Cammalleri (personal reasons). ... San Jose C Tomas Hertl (sprained right knee) will undergo a "minor procedure" Tuesday, the team announced. There is no timetable for his return. ... San Jose LW Melker Karlsson (lower body) missed his third consecutive game. ... The Sharks' five-game homestand continues Wednesday against Chicago. ... The Devils return home from a four-game trip to host Toronto on Wednesday. ... RW Kevin Labanc, LW Melker Karlsson and D Dylan DeMelo were San Jose's healthy scratches, while D Yohann Auvitu did not dress for New Jersey.