Joe Thornton gets 1,000th assist in Sharks win

WINNIPEG -- Joe Pavelski scored two goals, and Joe Thornton became the 13th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 assists to help the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre on Monday.
Thornton reached the milestone with an assist on Pavelski's empty-net goal to make it 3-1 with 26 seconds left in the third period.

"Honestly, I've been lucky enough to stay healthy all these years and play with a lot of good scorers," Thornton said. "For a passer, that's probably the key. It's just having the Jonathan Cheechoos, the Glen Murrays, the Joe Pavelskis, you know, the Patty Marleaus. The list goes on and on and on. The guys that I've played with over the years have put the puck in the back of the net, so I've been lucky to be set up with those guys."
WATCH: All Sharks vs. Jets highlights
Pavelski's 23rd goal became the game-winner after Jets center Mark Scheifele scored to pull the Jets within 3-2 with seven seconds remaining.
The Sharks (39-19-7), who are 6-1-2 in their past nine games, are seven points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division.
San Jose goalie Aaron Dell made 31 saves.

"That was a big win for us," Dell said. "This time of year, every point is key, so I think we needed to have a good answer from last night (a 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild)."
Hellebuyck made 27 saves in his 12th straight start for the Jets (30-31-6), who are three points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"We played hard," said Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey, who scored in the first period. "We did a lot of the right things. I mean, this time of year, it comes down to little bounces and those little details in games. Obviously, we would have liked to close it out the right way in the third."
Pavelski gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 9:45 of the first period.

Morrissey tied it 1-1 at 11:27. Joel Ward tried to clear the puck out of the Sharks zone, but Morrissey was able to keep it in at the blue line, and his slap shot from the point beat Dell high to the glove side.
Mikkel Boedker put the Sharks up 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal at 7:26 of the third period.

Goal of the game

Logan Couture disrupted a pass by forward Patrik Laine in the Sharks zone with the Jets on the power play, allowing Boedker to chip the puck past a diving Jacob Trouba. The play resulted in a breakaway for Boedker, who beat Hellebuyck to the blocker side.

Save of the game

With the Jets pressing with the extra attacker, Dell got across his crease to make a right-pad save on a Laine one-timer from the left circle with 59 seconds remaining. "I've seen him make that play a lot," Dell said of Laine. "I know they were looking for it. I kind of kept it in the back of my mind that whole time. I was pretty prepared to get there when they made the play."

Highlight of the game

Hellebuyck made back-to-back saves, including a spectacular blocker stop on Melker Karlsson at 9:44 of the first period, but Pavelski scored on the rebound.

Unsung performance of the game

Pavelski got back to break up a shorthanded 3-on-1 break for the Jets when he got his stick on Adam Lowry's pass from the top of the right circle to Joel Armia at the left dot with 1:18 left in the second period.

They said it

"It's always nice to get these things when you get the two points and you can have some fun on the plane on the way home." -- Sharks forward Joe Thornton on his 1,000th NHL assist
"It's going to be a happy plane ride back, for sure. I think for all of us the rest is going to be big. It feels like it's been awhile since we've been able to have a couple at home. We've got to take advantage of these games when we get back. We got to bring that road mentality. Just playing simple, playing Sharks hockey." -- Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon
"You go into the third period tied 1-1 at home, you like your chances, but unfortunately we weren't able to close it out tonight." -- Jets forward Adam Lowry

Need to know

Pavelski has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past nine games. … Scheifele has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in his past nine games, and he is one goal shy of tying his NHL career high (29 last season). … Winnipeg failed to score three or more goals for the first time in nine games.

What's next

Sharks:Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; CSN-CA, CSN-DC, NHL.TV)
Jets: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; SN, ROOT, NHL.TV)