SAN JOSE – San Jose scored three goals in a span of four shots on net in the third period Saturday afternoon to highlight a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers in front of 16,888 fans at SAP Center.
The victory pulled San Jose within one point of the Anaheim Ducks in the scramble for second place in the Pacific Division. New York remained in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 88 points.
The Sharks produced a season-high 52 shots on net, leading the Rangers to pull goaltender Henrik Lundqvist after a flurry of 200 seconds in the third period left San Jose with a 4-1 advantage.
Joe Thornton began the onslaught at the 5:45 mark of the third when his goal off a Lundqvist rebound of a Tomas Hertl shot gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead. Thornton moved into 31st place in the all-time NHL points record with 1,328.
San Jose’s next shot was a goal from Joel Ward off a Patrick Marleau feed at the 7:35 mark, Ward’s second of the game.
Two shots later, Joe Pavelski netted his team-leading 33rd goal of the season at 9:05. Hertl’s assist was his third of the game.  Â
San Jose entertains the Arizona Coyotes Sunday night. The every-other-day homestand continues this week with games against St. Louis (Tuesday), Edmonton, Dallas and Los Angeles.
The Sharks opened the scoring with a power-play goal 7:50 into the second period.
After the Rangers went down one skater because of a penalty for too many men on the ice at the 6:01 mark, the first San Jose power-play group could not solve Henrik Lundqvist. As the extra-skater time began to close, rookie winger Joonas Donskoi skated with the puck behind the Rangers net, then snapped the puck back to an advancing Ward in the slot for a one-timer inside the top left corner of the net for the goal.
Although the Sharks enjoyed a 21-9 edge in shots on net in the second period, New York was able to generate a goal to create a 1-1 deadlock going into the third period.
Dan Boyle, the 39-year-old defenseman in his second year with the Rangers, pulled the puck past goaltender Martin Jones with 17:32 gone in the period. Center Derick Brassard and Boyle produced a 2-on-1 rush toward Jones. When defenseman Brenden Dillon slid across the slot to defend Brassard, the center fed the puck to Boyle for the equalizer. The tally was Boyle’s first in 12 games against the Sharks.
