San Jose ends 3-game slide
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Logan Couture scored another goal for the Sharks, but he said he was happier to see his team’s top line get untracked Wednesday.
“We’ve got to get those guys going to help us offensively,” Couture said of Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier after the Sharks’ 3-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes. “We need them to produce.”
Thornton opened the scoring for the Sharks, with Pavelski adding an assist, the pair’s first points since Nov. 8, a span of five games.
“I think with Timo with us last game it brought us a lot of energy and a lot of chances,” said Thornton, who scored his first goal since Oct. 26. “Me and Pavs really like playing with him.”
Joel Ward added an emptynet goal with 47.8 to play for the Sharks, who snapped a threegame losing streak.
“We got enough offense to win,” said Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer. “That’s all that matters. I thought we played a good road game. I don’t care how it looks.”
Brendan Perlini scored with 7:37 to go, ruining Sharks goalie Martin Jones’ bid for his second shutout of the season. The Coyotes saw their season-high three-game winning streak snapped and lost for the eighth time in nine home games. Jones finished with 26 saves. “We defended really well,” said Jones, who was tested seriously only twice in the first two periods. “The first 10 minutes they had a lot of jump and were buzzing around our zone, but after that not as much.”
Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta left at 14:37 of the first period with an upper-body injury. Scott Wedgewood took Raanta’s place and was in net for only five seconds before the Sharks broke through.
Wedgewood stopped Brent Burns’ long shot from the top of the right circle, but the rebound kicked to the bottom of the right circle, from where Thornton beat the goalie with a wrist shot.
San Jose made it 2-0 at 4:56 of the second as Joonas Donskoi skated to the goal line and sent a pass across to Couture, who scored on a backhander.