SAN JOSE – San Jose reached the midpoint of the NHL season Thursday night with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at sold-out SAP Center.
The Sharks scored the first two goals of the second period for a 4-0 advantage. San Jose has 26 victories, double that of the Oilers, after 41 games this campaign.
Two days after dropping a 6-3 decision to the host Anaheim Ducks to end a four-game winning streak, San Jose used a balanced scoring attack to over-power Edmonton, the cellar club of the Pacific Division.
Joe Pavelski, named the previous day to the 2014 US Olympic hockey team, produced a goal and an assist for the winners. Joe Thornton, with two assists, was the only other Shark with two points.
San Jose could not convert either of its power play opportunities in the first period. The Sharks opened the scoring at 14:37 of the first when Brent Burns buried a Thornton assist.
The Sharks needed another 49 seconds for a 2-0 cushion. Patrick Marleau scored an unassisted goal at 15:26. The winger collected the puck along the boards in the Oiler zone, then sped to the high slot before drilling a shot past goaltender Devan Dubnyk for his team-pacing 18th goal.
San Jose has surrendered 2-0 leads in the past but the offense continued to come up with goals in the second period. Bracken Kearns earned his third goal in as many games with the club when he turned on a feed from Andrew Desjardins and pulled the low shot past Dubnyk a 7:18.
John McCarthy delivered a head-man pass to Logan Couture behind the Oiler zone at 8:45 of the second. Couture raced to the top of the slot before firing his 13th goal into the top right corner of the net.
Antti Niemi gave up a goal to sophomore winger Nail Yakupov 15:39 into the second period.
The Sharks capped the scoring when Pavelski one-timed an offering from Thornton by Dubnyk at 5:44 of the third period.
“We kept the pressure on for the full 60,” Thornton said.
San Jose begins a three-game roadtrip against Central Division competition Saturday at Colorado.
