National Hockey League
San Jose 5, Carolina 1
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Garrett Rank
Linesmen: Matt MacPherson, Steve Miller
Attendance: 17119

Timo Meier collected one goal and two assists, and Joe Thornton notched three assists as the San Jose Sharks thumped the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Goalie Martin Jones made 39 saves for the Sharks, who have won two in a row.

San Jose's Barclay Goodrow opened the scoring at 3:44 of the first period with a snipe that isn't often seen from a fourth-line player. After Melker Karlsson stole the puck in the offensive zone, Kevin Labanc made a quick pass to Goodrow, who snapped a shot into the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Tomas Hertl doubled the Sharks' lead just past the midway point of the opening frame with an easy tally set up by Lebanc. With San Jose on the power play, Labanc fired a perfect pass to Hertl at the doorstep, and he simply redirected the puck for his seventh of the season.

The goal snapped Carolina's penalty-kill run at 21 successful kills, a stretch that lasted more than seven games.

Meier's goal at 8:42 of the second period made it a 3-0. Meier was in the slot when he deflected Radim Simek's shot into the cage for his 14th goal of the season. The assist was Simek's first NHL point.

The rout was on when Joe Pavelski scored at 15:02 of the second period with a lucky goal. Even though no teammates were in the vicinity, Pavelski sent the puck to the front of the net and Carolina's Jordan Staal inadvertently deflected the puck into his own cage. It was Pavelski's fifth goal in as many games and 18th of the season.

Carolina's Lucas Wallmark scored with 89 seconds left in the second period, but San Jose's Marcus Sorensen rounded out the scoring with just over four minutes left in the game.

With his three assists, Thornton has 1,038 in his career and is two behind Marcel Dionne for 10th on the NHL's all-time list.

Goalie Curtis McElhinney made 18 saves for the Hurricanes, who have just one win in five games (1-3-1).

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Carolina   San Jose
Lucas Wallmark 1 Points Timo Meier 3
Lucas Wallmark 1 Goals Timo Meier 1
Dougie Hamilton 1 Assists Joe Thornton 3
Lucas Wallmark 1 Power Play Goals Tomas Hertl 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Curtis McElhinney .783 Save Percentage Martin Jones .975
Curtis McElhinney 18 Saves Martin Jones 39
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Carolina 40 1 1-3 1-2 6 36
San Jose 23 5 1-2 2-3 8 31
Upcoming Games
  • San Jose will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Sharks have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .562 after a loss.
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .400 after a loss.