Ehlers scores hat trick in Jets victory against Sharks

SAN JOSE --Nikolaj Ehlers had his fourth NHL hat trick -- his second in the past 12 games -- and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-3 at SAP Center on Thursday.

Ehlers gave the Jets a 4-3 lead at 16:53 of the third period, and completed the hat trick to make it 5-3 when he was credited with a goal when he was tripped by Sharks forward Joe Pavelski while skating toward an empty net at 19:00.
"He's amped up his intensity, his compete on pucks, his stopping and starting, all the hard things in a game that he's never really had to do in the past to be a good player, and then lo and behold he's scoring a lot of points," Jets coach Paul Maurice said of Ehlers, who has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in his past 13 games.
WATCH: [All Jets vs. Sharks highlights]
Dustin Byfuglien and Mason Appleton scored for the Jets (23-10-2), and Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves. Blake Wheeler had three assists to tie Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche for the NHL lead with 42, and Mark Scheifele had two assists.
Evander Kane had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (19-12-5), whose season-high five-game winning streak ended. Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi also scored, and Martin Jones made 20 saves.
"This might have been our best game in the last six games and it was the one we lost," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We had a good effort. Some unfortunate bounces. … Kane was on tonight. He was feeling it against his old team and [had] a little bit extra in him tonight. I probably should have used him a little bit more than I did."

Byfuglien scored 51 seconds into the first period on a breakaway after taking the puck away from Sharks defenseman Brent Burns with a poke check.
San Jose tied it 1-1 at 1:36 when Kane scored against his former team for the first time, from the left face-off circle on a 2-on-1 rush.
"I played decently but could have finished better," Kane said. "Two good teams going at it. We had won five in a row [and] we were looking to extend the streak. We've definitely gotten better as a group."
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 11:27 on Pavelski's power-play goal, a tip of Kevin Labanc's shot.
Ehlers tied it 2-2 at 10:32 from close range into an open net. Ehlers scored after Jones went behind the net and the puck bounced off the back boards in front to Ehlers.
"It feels good," Ehlers said of his hot streak. "I think me, [Scheifele] and [Wheeler] have created some pretty good chemistry and we're working as hard as we can to keep getting better as a line and helping the team win."
Appleton gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead at 13:44 when he scored from close range for his first NHL goal. It was his 11th NHL game.
Donskoi tied it 3-3 at 19:54 of the second period, redirecting Kane's pass for his 100th NHL point. He ended a 13-game goalless drought.
"I think we're confident in ourselves," Wheeler said. "I think we never feel out of the game, we never feel we need to press to score goals. Do the right things over and over again and we're going to get chances. It's just a matter of making it count on your best chances."
The Sharks outshot the Jets 14-3 in the third period but were outscored 2-0.
"The third, we got outshot badly, but I think in terms of quality we would have had the best chances to score," Maurice said.

They said it

"[Nikolaj Ehlers] has a knack to put the puck in the net. Obviously an incredibly dynamic player. He's doing a good job of being patient, jumping in the holes at the right time and banging them in." -- Jets forward Blake Wheeler
"Tonight was a heavyweight game for us. We wanted to win this one. But unfortunately they came away with it. We expect to be one of the top teams. Today we showed it in bits and pieces. But a full-time effort wasn't there. You can't make small mistakes early in the game, it's going to come back and cost you." -- Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson

Need to know

Sharks center Joe Thornton had his 1,040th NHL assist to tie Marcel Dionne for 10th place on the all-time list. … Karlsson has eight assists in a seven-game assist streak. … Jets forward Mathieu Perreault had his five-game goal streak end. … Jets forward Nic Petan returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous 10 games and had an assist. He replaced Adam Lowry, who missed the game with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day.

What's next

Jets: At the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN360, SNP, NHL.TV)
Sharks:Host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNW, SNP, NHL.TV)