The San Jose Sharks gained the upper hand and blew out the Dallas Stars 5-1 at SAP Center on Sunday night.

The Sharks struck first as Patrick Marleau picked up a pass from Logan Couture and put it into the net past Kari Lehtonen for his 23rd goal of the season just 3:56 into the opening period.

The Stars tied the score 1-1 at 7:06 when Remi Elie scored his first NHL goal off a second chance on his own rebound to beat Aaron Dell. Ales Hemsky collected the only assist on the equalizer.

Joe Pavelski scored on the Sharks’ fifth shot on net for his 25th goal of the season, giving his team a 2-1 lead with 2:46 left in the period.

Shots were 15-6 in favor of the Stars, but the Sharks held a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The Sharks’ offense came alive in the second period.

Joel Ward scored on a one-timer from Couture’s pass for his eighth goal of the season, extending the Sharks’ lead to 3-1 just 2:46 into the period.

Pavelski scored an unassisted, short-handed goal at 7:34 for his second of the game and 26th of the season, expanding the Sharks’ lead to 4-1.

Shots were 23-18 in favor of the Stars, but the Sharks brought a 4-1 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.

The Sharks made their lead even bigger when Chris Tierney stood in front of the net and tipped in a wrist shot past Antti Niemi to make it 5-1 early in the third period.

The Sharks (41-20-7) beat the Stars (27-31-10) by a lopsided score of 5-1. Dell finished with 29 saves for San Jose.

Lehtonen stopped five of eight shots before being pulled. Niemi made 16 saves in relief of Lehtonen.

The Sharks remain in first place of the Pacific Division after winning three of their last four games.

Notes
Scratched: Tim Heed, Ryan Carpenter

Injured: David Schlemko (lower body), Melker Karlsson (lower body)

Up Next
The Sharks return to action Tuesday night when they host the Buffalo Sabres (28-29-12) at 7:30 p.m. PST on CSN-CA and MSG-B.