Fast start carries Sharks over Lightning
TAMPA, Fla. -- The San Jose Sharks continue to play some of their best hockey on the road, and two early goals helped them to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at Amalie Arena.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 25 saves and took a shutout into the third period as San Jose (9-6-0) picked up its fifth road win of the season. Patrick Marleau, Tommy Wingels and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored goals for the Sharks.
The Lightning (8-6-1) couldn't find much support for goalie Ben Bishop, who dropped to 5-5 on the season. Bishop was a Vezina Trophy finalist last year but has a .500 record a month into the season.
Tampa Bay got a goal from defenseman Anton Stralman on a rebound with 14:17 left in the third, but the Sharks were in control the whole night, taking a 2-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game.
The Lightning came in with seven power-play goals in their last five games, but could only muster two opportunities Saturday, missing on both. San Jose converted its only chance with the man advantage, getting a power-play goal from Vlasic in the second period.
The Sharks bolted to a 2-0 lead on their first five shots in the opening period and added another goal in the second for a 3-0 lead.
The first goal was a controversial one, initially ruled no goal and confirmed as such on video review. The Sharks challenged the call and had it overturned to a good goal. Marleau scored his fourth goal of the season with 12:42 left in the first when the review determined that the puck crossed the line under Bishop's pad before the net was displaced.
The original call deemed that Marleau had incidental contact with Bishop, who had made a big save moments earlier on a penalty shot, blocking Joonas Donskoi's shot after he was hooked on a breakaway.
San Jose made it 2-0 just three minutes later. The Lightning failed to clear a loose puck and Chris Tierney fed a centering pass to Wingels, who beat Bishop for his third goal of the season. That score held until Vlasic found the top left corner of the net to beat Bishop for his third goal with 11:08 left in the second.
The Lightning, who came in 5-1-1 at home, outshot the Sharks 18-16 in the first two periods but were unable to get any shots past Jones.
NOTES: The Lightning played their fifth straight game without LW Jonathan Drouin since he took a hit to the head Nov. 1. The Lightning again had D Nikita Nesterov as a healthy scratch as the team's seventh defenseman. ... San Jose had three healthy scratches in C Micheal Haley, D Dylan Demelo and LW Matt Nieto. ... Tampa Bay hits the road for a five-game road swing starting Monday at the New York Islanders and Tuesday at the Detroit Red Wings. San Jose begins the second half of a six-game road swing with a game Tuesday at the Carolina Hurricanes.