The San Jose Sharks shutout the New Jersey Devils 4-0 at SAP Center on Monday night.
The Sharks placed forward Tomas Hertl on injured reserve and recalled Danny O’Regan from the Barracuda of the American Hockey League. Hertl suffered a right knee sprain in the Nov. 17 game against the St. Louis Blues.
O’Regan played in his first NHL game as a fourth-line center alongside Michael Haley and Tommy Wingels.
Meanwhile, Devils’ second-line right-wing Kyle Palmieri didn’t play because of a lower-body injury. Palmieri was briefly on the ice Monday before leaving the morning skate. New Jersey was also without forwards Taylor Hall, who is recovering from left knee surgery, and Michael Cammalleri, who has missed the past five games for personal reasons.
Although Matt Nieto was called for goaltender interference at 1:44 of the opening frame, the Sharks didn’t waste any time getting on the board. San Jose grabbed a 1-0 lead just 15 seconds later as Chris Tierney beat Devils backup goalie Keith Kinkaid with a short-handed goal for his first of the year.
Patrick Marleau doubled the Sharks’ lead with his fifth goal of the year at 6:43 of the first period. Marleau scored his 486th goal of all-time.
The Sharks outshot the Devils 13-9 and led 2-0 after 20 minutes.
In the last seven games, the Sharks’ power-play was just 1-for-20, but the team got their act together Monday.
Ben Lovejoy was called for interference at 9:36. The Sharks were quick to capitalize on the man advantage and extend its lead to 3-0 at 10:33 of the second period. Joe Thornton’s pass to the front of the net went off Andy Greene’s skate right to Logan Couture, who fired the puck into the net for a power-play goal.
Thornton picked up his 900th point as a Shark with an assist on Couture’s fifth goal of the year. With his 1,354th career point, Thornton passed LaFleur and tied Brenden Shanahan for 25th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
“Oh it’s nice,” Thornton said when asked about how he felt. “I’ve been here for a long time. I’ve played with some really good players and I’m lucky to play with them.”
The Sharks played with tons of energy on home ice, mustering almost twice as many shots in the second frame with 29 shots as opposed to the Devils’ 16. San Jose led 3-0 after 40 minutes.
As Tierney went to the bench with a mark under his left eye due to a deflected puck to the face, Brent Burns received credit for an own goal by Kyle Quincey. The Sharks took a 4-0 lead midway through the third period.
The Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 shutout win over the Devils.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones finished with 26 saves for his second shutout of the year. Kinkaid made 37 saves in a losing effort for the Devils.
Speaking after the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said he was pleased with his team’s performance.
“It was a good win for us,” DeBoer said. “I felt like the team stepped up. They were desperate. They haven’t won in the last three.”
Up Next
The Sharks return to action Wednesday night when they host the Chicago Blackhawks. Game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PST on NBCS, WGN.
