GLENDALE, Ariz. _ The big dogs showed up and reminded the Desert Dogs of where they sit in the Pacific Division standings Wednesday.
The Sharks' Fab Four of Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Brent Burns collected a point a piece, leading the charge in a 3-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes (5-16-3) at the Gila River Arena.
After the Coyotes reeled off three consecutive wins and snapped the Toronto Maple Leafs' six-game winning streak Monday, head coach Pete DeBoer expected to face a dangerous team playing with confidence. He warned the Sharks (11-8-1) that the Coyotes league-low 13 points is, "really misleading."
Instead, the Sharks top forward lines used the clash against the Pacific Division's cellar dwellers as an opportunity to regain their mojo, giving the team a 2-0 lead in the game's first 25 minutes.
Thornton opened the scoring at 14:42 of the first, pouncing on the rebound of a Burns point shot and firing the puck inside the far post to record his third goal of the season. In doing so, Thornton picked up his first point in six games.
By earning the primary assist, Burns collected his first point in nine games, and Pavelski, who got the secondary apple, grabbed his first point in six games, as well.
Couture gave the Sharks a two-goal cushion at 4:56 of the second with help from Joonas Donskoi, who rejoined his line Monday night. After Justin Braun kept the puck in the offense zone with a pinch up the right-wing boards, Donskoi jumped on it and drew the defense toward him, leaving an open lane to the net for Couture to score his team-leading 11th goal.
Couture and Donskoi, who formed a formidable duo during the Sharks run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, also connected for a goal against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
Joel Ward iced the game at 19:12 of the third, scoring an unassisted empty-net goal.
Although the Sharks failed to score three non-empty net goals for the seventh time in eight games, the two-goal lead proved to be more than enough for goalie Martin Jones, who made 26 saves to earn his ninth win of the year.
Jones' lone blemish came at 12:23 of the third when Brenden Perlini tapped in a pass from Derek Stepan at the side of the net after the Sharks failed to clear the puck out of the defensive zone.
The Sharks goalie made several big saves in the win, including a pad save on a Stepan breakaway in the first, a left pad save on a Perlini redirection in the second and he swallowed the puck on a short-handed opportunity from Tobias Rieder early in the third.
