Fast start lifts Sharks past Coyotes

SAN JOSE -- After building a two-goal lead in the first period, the San Jose Sharks made sure to finish the job and put the Arizona Coyotes farther in their rearview mirror in the Pacific Division.
Matt Tennyson and Chris Tierney scored in the first period, and the Sharks rolled to a 4-1 victory at SAP Center on Saturday.

"We knew the importance of it," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We talked about the importance of it again between the second and third [periods], a chance to really put some distance between us and that team. We knew they were going to be desperate.
"Been in their spot before when you're four or five or six points out at this point of the year. They're must-win games. I loved our third period. We only gave them one shot. We kept our foot on the gas and did a great job."

The victory kept the Sharks in second place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, who won 3-2 in overtime at the Chicago Blackhawks. San Jose trails the first-place Los Angeles Kings by six points. Arizona is fourth in the Pacific, six points behind Anaheim and seven behind the Sharks.
"We worked hard," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "It was some [poor] execution that led to some mistakes that ended up in the back of our net. We had lots of 'try.' We couldn't execute enough to ourselves back in the game."
Martin Jones made 22 saves for the Sharks (29-20-5), who defeated Arizona for the second time in as many games this season.
Tomas Hertl scored at 10:58 of the third period to make it 3-1, and Joonas Donskoi hit the empty net for a power-play goal with 1:19 left.

Arizona rookie goaltender Louis Domingue, playing for the second straight night, gave up three goals on 27 shots. Martin Hanzal scored in the second period for the Coyotes (25-24-6), who have lost six of their past seven games.
The Sharks held a 2-1 lead until Hertl, planted in the low slot, redirected defenseman Brent Burns' shot from the point past Domingue for his 11th goal of the season. It came 21 seconds after Hertl deflected a point shot by defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic past Domingue, but that goal was disallowed because Hertl's stick was too high. The call stood after video review.
"It's huge," Burns said of Hertl's goal. You're always looking for the next one all the time and there's not many guys who like to score as much as [Hertl]. So it's good to get it back after the other one was taken away."

The Sharks grabbed a quick 1-0 lead when Tennyson scored his second goal of the season and fourth of his NHL career at 2:59 of the first period. With Sharks forward Dainius Zubrus and Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy battling for position in front of the crease, Tennyson's wrist shot from near the blue line beat a screened Domingue through the five-hole.
"I didn't think it was going in," Tennyson said. "It got a bounce or something. I'm not sure."
Tennyson had been a healthy scratch for 23 straight games before replacing the injured Brenden Dillon on Thursday against Calgary. He took Dillon's place again and scored his first goal since Dec. 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"This game is frustrating," Domingue said. "Really [ticked] me off. We have to win those games. It's crucial. They come out hard in this building and then a deflection. I was squared to the puck but it still found its way in. I don't know what to say -- 99.9 percent of the time it's going to hit me. Our PK has been solid. It gives us a chance to hang around in games, and that's what we did tonight."

Tierney made it 2-0 at 18:56 with his seventh goal of the season. The fourth-line center got behind Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and planted himself near the crease. Burns skated down the slot and sent a pass ahead to Tierney, who lifted the puck over Domingue's right pad, ending his eight-game goalless streak.
"I think [Ekman-Larsson] saw Burns coming down," Tierney said. "He's dangerous from all angles, so I think I kind of just got in behind him a little, got my stick down, and all I really had to do was make sure it was once the ice for Burns, and I just kind of tapped it in off that."
Arizona outshot the Sharks 10-9, but Jones, who had a rare night off Thursday, stopped every shot that came his way.
The Coyotes finally broke through at 1:58 of the second when Hanzal scored his eighth goal of the season. He took a pass from Tobias Rieder, got behind San Jose's defensemen and beat Jones on a breakaway with a shot from the left circle that banked off the far post and into the net. That turned out to be their only goal of the night.
Hertl's goal gave the Sharks some breathing room.
"We got that 2-1 lead and you want to push for that third one," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "It's good to see us get that one. We wanted to get one more to really put it out [of reach] and their power play had some looks but guys just kept going."