ANAHEIM, Calif. _ Tomas Hertl scored two even strength goals in the first two periods of Thursday's game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Then the San Jose Sharks' special teams came alive.
Brent Burns scored a power play goal at the 8:05 mark of the third period and Evander Kane scored shorthanded two minutes and 27 seconds later to help give the Sharks a 5-3 victory over the Ducks, extending their win streak to five games.
Kane's goal, his 12th of the season, came off a pass from Logan Couture as the two started an odd man rush the other way after a Ducks giveaway. It proved to be the winner, as the Sharks took two points on the road for the first time since Oct. 24 when they beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2.
Martin Jones finished with 30 saves and has backstopped all five wins during the streak, the Sharks' longest since they won six straight from March 1-12 last season.
Just before Burns' goal, Jones made two big stops. He saved a backhand shot by Ryan Getzlaf on one Ducks rush, then another shot by Rickard Rakell.
Also just before Burns' goal, Hertl appeared to be injured on a collision with Sam Steel near the Sharks net. He left the ice and did not return.
For the most part, the Sharks had one line going in the first two periods as Hertl, Barclay Goodrow and Timo Meier combined for both goals and 10 of the Sharks' 20 shots.
Hertl's second goal came with 1:32 left in the second period, as he took a pass from Meier and fired it past John Gibson high to the blocker side for his 10th of the season. The goal came 5:28 after Jakob Silfverberg scored his ninth of the season on a Ducks power play.
Hertl's first goal in the first period tied the game 1-1 at the 6:44 mark after he and Goodrow came down on a 2-on-1. Hertl passed to to Goodrow, who was able to direct the puck toward the Ducks net. Hertl followed it up and with the puck laying close to the left pad of John Gibson, pushed it across the goal line.
It was initially not ruled a goal, but after a video review, it was determined that the puck had completely crossed the goal line.
Hertl had been the Sharks' go-to forward during their four-game win streak, as he collected four goals and three assists. Couture had one goal and five assists in that time.
The Sharks return home Saturday to face the Detroit Red Wings.
Jones was making his fifth straight start. In wins over Chicago, Minnesota, Nashville and Edmonton, Jones had an .885 save percentage and a 2.70 goals against average.
Perhaps key, though, was the amount of shots he's had to face. In the four wins, Jones has faced just 96 shots, second fewest in that time among all goalies who have played over 200 minutes.
Despite the four-game win streak, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer made two changes to his lineup up from Tuesday's 6-3 victory over Edmonton. Dalton Prout replaced Tim Heed on the Sharks' third defense pair beside Brenden Dillon.
Lukas Radil, after being a healthy scratch for three straight games, replaced rookie Noah Gregor on the fourth line as he started Thursday alongside Dylan Gambrell and Melker Karlsson.
DeBoer inserted Prout as he felt he needed a little more size in his lineup against a heavy Ducks team, and wasn't happy with how his fourth line played against Nashville and Edmonton.
Prout wait long to get involved. After a collision along the boards inside the Sharks zone. Prout and Nicolas Deslauriers exchanged words before they dropped the gloves. Prout had not played since Oct. 2 when he suffered a concussion in the Sharks' season-opener against the Vegas Golden Knights.
