Pavelski, Jones power Sharks past Blackhawks

SAN JOSE --Joe Pavelski scored twice, and the San Jose Sharks set a season high for goals in a 7-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center on Thursday.
The Sharks (35-21-9) are in second place in the Pacific Division, eight points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings. They are 5-2-1 in their past eight games and have won the first two games of a six-game homestand.

"We haven't scored like this all year so it was nice to have a game like that, nice for the guys to get rewarded," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.
WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Sharks highlights]
The Sharks last scored seven goals on Jan. 9, 2016, in a 7-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Logan Couture, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Barclay Goodrow also scored. Dylan DeMelo had a NHL career-high three assists and Martin Jones made 32 saves for San Jose.

Five of San Jose's seven goals came on odd-man rushes.
"That's probably a sign that we're starting to do a few more things defensively right," Pavelski said. "Tonight it was a little bit more run and gun. We had a lot of odd-man rushes and we were scoring some goals. It's a fun night for sure. They're not all going to come like that."
Artem Anisimov and Nick Schmaltz scored for Chicago (27-29-8), which trails the Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues by 12 points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
J-F Berube gave up six goals on 28 shots in his second start of the season -- both against San Jose -- and was pulled for Anton Forsberg after two periods. Berube made 42 saves in a 3-1 victory Feb. 23 against San Jose at United Center.
"I can't say anybody had a great night, so you can't talk about one guy," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

Anisimov gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 2:12 of the first period when he beat Jones with a wrist shot.
Pavelski, who has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in his past 12 games, tied it 1-1 at 10:22 with a wrist shot on an odd-man rush.
"This is his time of year," DeBoer said. "He always finds another level this time of year."
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 14:14 when Couture scored his 27th goal of the season from close range on another odd-man rush.
"We had a good start and then we gave up a couple of easy ones," Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews said. "In the second we did the same, we kept giving up easy chances."
Labanc made it 3-1 at 2:13 of the second period, taking a pass in the left circle from Chris Tierney and beating Berube.

The Sharks extended their lead to 4-1 at 5:21 when Meier redirected Brenden Dillon's point shot from the slot past Berube.
Pavelski scored his second goal at 12:14 on a 2-on-1 rush to make it 5-1.
"I don't think we've executed like that off the rush in a long time so that was real good to see," Jones said.
Vlasic increased the lead to 6-1 at 19:58 when he banked a shot from below the goal line off the back of Berube's right leg. Goodrow scored from close range at 2:32 of the third for a 7-1 advantage.
Schmaltz scored with 33 seconds left to make it 7-2.

Goal of the game

Pavelski's goal at 10:22 of the first period.

Save of the game

Jones' save on Patrick Sharp at 15:46 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Couture's goal at 14:14 of the first period.

They said it

"When things aren't going your way you have to keep working. You got to find ways to turn things your way. And when things go well you got to stay with that momentum." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews
"When we break the puck out well we're a really solid team. That's usually where it starts, in our own end. We break the puck out clean and come thought the neutral zone with some speed so we have a chance to work off the rush there." -- Sharks goaltender Martin Jones

Need to know

Jones has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of his past 13 starts. … Sharks forward Evander Kane has three assists in two games since being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. ... Couture scored his 206th NHL goal, moving into a tie with Owen Nolan for fourth place on San Jose's all-time list. ... Blackhawks forward Matthew Highmore, recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Monday, made his NHL debut. He had two shots, blocked one shot and was minus-3 in 12:33.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-W, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Sharks: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-O, NHL.TV)