Sharks score 3 straight to open 1st period, cruise past Devils

SAN JOSE -- Alexander Wennberg and Philipp Kurashev each had a goal and an assist, and the San Jose Sharks scored three straight goals to open the first period of a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at SAP Center on Thursday.

William Eklund, Will Smith, and Tyler Toffoli also scored, and Timothy Liljegren had two assists for the Sharks (3-6-2), who have won three of five and earned both their first home win and first regulation win of the season. Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves.

"Just compete and just play,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Get to our game. I liked our start again. We did some really good things. I liked our game in the third. It matured as it went on, something we continue to continue to build on."

Dawson Mercer scored twice on the power play for the Devils (8-3-0), who have lost two straight following an eight-game winning streak. Dougie Hamilton had two assists, and Jake Allen made 23 saves.

"I don't think it was a structural issue today,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I think it was a work ethic and competitive issue for us."

Eklund gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead 42 seconds into the first period. The puck bounced past Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler at the point, and Eklund raced past him and beat Allen five-hole.

"It is always big when you score first,” Eklund said. “You're trying to get the momentum. That's something that you always want to do."

Kurashev extended it to 2-0 at 12:12. Wennberg found Kurashev in the slot with a pass from the left boards, and his one-timer beat Allen glove side.

Wennberg then pushed it to 3-0 at 15:47. Mario Ferraro's shot from the left boards deflected off Wennberg's leg and past Allen's blocker.

"I thought we were pretty disciplined in our own end, very detailed, and we were putting our bodies on the line,” Nedeljkovic said. “Guys were blocking a lot of shots tonight. There were a couple of times pucks came from the point where I didn't really have a good sight on it, and it ended up never getting through."

Mercer cut it to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 19:00. Jack Hughes slipped a pass into the slot that Mercer tipped past Nedeljkovic's blocker.

"When you start like that, you're trying to climb out of it,” Mercer said. “We just have to try to create more and not have that happen.”

Smith made it 4-1 at 16:50 of the second period. Macklin Celebrini won a face-off and bumped a pass to Smith in the slot, who had his initial shot blocked before scoring on the rebound.

Toffoli extended it to 5-1 at 18:30 after Dmitry Orlov's wrist shot from the left boards tipped off Toffoli and beat Allen by the blocker.

Mercer made it 5-2 with his second power-play goal of the game at 4:19 of the third period. Hamilton's one-timer from the point deflected in off Mercer and by Nedeljkovic's pad.

NOTES: Celebrini had an assist for his 80th career point and became the 10th teenager in NHL history to reach the mark in 81 or fewer games, joining Wayne Gretzky (50 games), Mario Lemieux (60), Dale Hawerchuk (64), Bryan Trottier (66), Ron Francis (59), Connor McDavid (70), Sidney Crosby (70), Steve Yzerman (75) and Ted Kennedy (81). ... San Jose forward Ryan Reaves left the game at the end of the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return.