Sharks defeat Blue Jackets, end four-game losing streak

COLUMBUS --Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc each had a goal and an assist to help the San Jose Sharks end a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Friday.
"We haven't got the results lately but there's been no discouragement. It starts with our leaders," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said.

\[WATCH: All Sharks vs. Blue Jackets highlights\]
Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored, and Martin Jones made 28 saves for the Sharks (27-16-8), who were 0-2-2 in the previous four games.
San Jose also won for the first time in four games (1-2-1) since Joe Thornton sustained a knee injury on Jan. 23.

Boone Jenner scored for Columbus (27-20-4), and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves. The Blue Jackets have lost two straight (0-1-1) and five of seven (2-4-1), and have scored two goals or fewer in regulation in 11 of the past 12 games.
"We played hard," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "We're not scoring. We had some opportunities. Certainly not enough in the first two periods."
The difference for San Jose was scoring twice on the power play in three opportunities.
"The power play's been a key for us for the last 2½ months," DeBoer said. "We have a lot of options there, a lot of guys are comfortable on the power play and they're zipping around with a lot of confidence."
Labanc made it 2-1 at 10:20 of the second period with a 5-on-3 power-play goal. He was left alone in the slot to receive a pass from the right wall by Joe Pavelski.
"I feel confident, and there's a lot of great players around me too," Labanc said.

Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno was benched after his hooking penalty at 10:13 of the second period led to Columbus being down two men. He returned for a power-play opportunity with 5:26 left in the third period.
"It's a tough one I take there," Foligno said of the penalty. "I'm disappointed in myself. I can't dwell on it."
He was not pleased with the benching even though he understood Tortorella's reasoning.
"It's the worst feeling in the world," Foligno said. "That's a really hard one to sit there and watch. You want to be out there helping your teammates."
Vlasic made it 3-1 at 6:51 of the third. Columbus defenseman David Savard whiffed on a bouncing puck and Vlasic scored off the backhand for his ninth goal.
Couture gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 5:07 of the first period with a shot from above the left circle. He leads the Sharks with 22 goals, seven on the power play. He has five goals in the past five games.

Jenner broke a drought to tie the score 1-1 at 4:30 of the second with a shot from the left circle that went to the upper-right corner following an entry pass by Cam Atkinson. It was his fifth goal of the season.
It was Jenner's first point in 12 games and first goal in 13.
"It was definitely nice to get that one," said Jenner, who missed a day of practice this week because of the death of his grandmother. "There's been different emotions this week."

Goal of the game

Labanc's goal at 10:20 of the second period.

Save of the game

Jones' save on Atkinson at 8:37 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Jenner's goal at 4:30 of the second period.

They said it

"I love the way we work. We hunt the puck down and forecheck as hard as anybody. It doesn't always go our way, but I don't think very often you can fault our effort." -- Sharks goalie Martin Jones
"I don't think we were that bad. We had two power-play goals scored against us. We had some opportunities." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

Need to know

Sharks forward Tomas Hertl played his 300th NHL game, and Blue Jackets forward Lukas Sedlak his 100th. … Hertl has eight points (two goals, six assists) in the past nine games. … San Jose is 19-0-1 when leading after two periods. … Atkinson has a goal and two assists in three games since returning after missing 11 games with a broken foot. … Columbus defenseman Dean Kukan has an assist in two straight games.

What's next

Sharks: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; FS-CR, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: At the New York Islanders on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-O, NHL.TV)