Joe Thornton had two goals and an assist and Antti Niemi made 30 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, as the San Jose Sharks dominated the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-0.
Joe Pavelski, Jamie McGinn and Michal Handzus all had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who have won two in a row since a three-game skid. Patrick Marleau also lit the lamp.
"I'm glad we played an emotional game," said Sharks coach Todd McLellan. "That's a big thing. I think we did a good job on sticking together."
Steve Mason made 37 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped five straight and sit last in the overall NHL standings with 32 points.
Marleau got San Jose's offense going at the 7:53 mark of the first period. Justin Braun's shot from the right point set up a rebound in front for Marleau.
Thornton scored his first goal of the game less than two minutes later. Thornton intercepted a pass in the Columbus zone, fired a shot on net and jammed home his own rebound.
Pavelski's one-timer from the point made it a 3-0 game at the 4:56 mark of the middle stanza.
McGinn put home a rebound with 3:05 remaining to make it a four-goal contest.
Handzus and Thornton scored in the third period to account for the final margin.
"They are a very good team and we made things harder on ourselves tonight just [with] poor puck management and poor decisions," said Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards.
Game Notes