Sharks top the Habs

A slow start for the Montreal Canadiens turned the game into an uphill battle.

Backed by a 40-save effort by goalie Martin Jones, the San Jose Sharks snapped a four-game losing skid with a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night. San Jose scored two early goals in the first period and the Canadiens never recovered.

“They were the better team in the first period,” said defenceman Jeff Petry, who scored the only goal for Montreal in the second. “We got better but that’s something we need to do from the start. We’ve won one in our last seven so there’s no reason we shouldn’t be desperate as well to get points and move up in the standings.

“We need to go out and dictate the pace.”

Montreal dropped to 13-0 on its current fivegame homestand, which ends Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Both teams were playing a second game in as many nights. The Canadiens downed the New York Rangers 5-2 on Saturday while the Sharks lost 6-2 in Ottawa.

San Jose showed no signs of fatigue though. The Sharks were imposing, fast and physical during the game — especially in the first and second periods — and Claude Julien’s men struggled to keep up.

The visitors needed just 2:55 to find the back of the net, with Justin Braun beating Carey Price after a bad giveaway by Petry in his own end.

With San Jose playing 5-on-3 hockey, Brent Burns made it 2-0 with a wrist shot from the slot at 10:29 to extend his point streak to four games.

Joe Pavelski capped off a give-and-go with Burns and Logan Couture to make it 3-1 at 15:51 of the second, his team-leading 17th goal of the season.