For the first time in five tries this season the Sharks managed to secure a regulation win over the last place Coyotes, 4-1 at Gila River Arena on Saturday. They keep their four-point lead over Edmonton, and are assured of going into the bye week in sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
Here are our three takeaways from the win…
1 – Burns turns the tide…again
For the second time in a week, Brent Burns changed the momentum of a game with his deadly wrist shot. The Sharks were on their heels early – Arizona had a 16-9 shot advantage in the first period, perhaps jolted be a pregame ceremony – but Burns' shot through traffic staked the Sharks a 1-0 lead and they were on their way.
"We kind of weathered their storm early," Joe Pavelski told reporters. "There was a lot of energy in the building."
It was similar to a game in New Jersey last Sunday, when Burns had a pair of second period goals, erasing a 1-0 deficit and putting his team on the track to victory.
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According to Elias, Burns – who added a third period power play goal, too – is the first defenseman to score 18 goals on the road since Paul Coffey's 22 in 1983-84. His 26 goals equal his total from last season, tying his franchise record.
"He's having an MVP season," Pete DeBoer told reporters. "He's been that good for us all year and it's every night. I don't know what else to say. In my mind right now he's the best player in the league, and we're happy to have him on our team."
Burns remains in third in the league in scoring with 63 points, four points behind Edmonton's Connor McDavid.
2 – Dell gets the job done…again
Getting his second start in a week, Aaron Dell made a new season high (and, thus, career high) with 36 saves. His best stop was early in the second period on Radim Vrbata, when he managed to snag a pin-balling puck from crossing the line, keeping the Sharks ahead 2-0. Had that one trickled over, the Coyotes might have been able to seize the momentum.
"I think I had it the whole time," Dell told reporters. "I kind of saw it for a second and then when I turned back I was able to find it and scoop it underneath me."
DeBoer said: "He's been good every time we've put him in there."
Dell, whose goals-against average is down to 1.95, outplayed Sharks nemesis Mike Smith, who had stopped 121 of 127 San Jose shots in three games this season.
"We got to Smitty in the first period, which was great," Pavelski said. "We kind of know what he's done to us the past few games, stopping a lot of pucks. … That was a big key for us."
3 – Fourth line magic
Through two periods, the Sharks' top two lines had generated a total of three shots on goal – one each from Joe Thornton, Kevin Labanc and Patrick Marleau.
Fortunately for the big guys, the fourth line was there to pick up the slack. Melker Karlsson posted three points (1g, 2a), Micheal Haley had one goal and one assist, and the fourth line generated all three of San Jose's goals through 40 minutes.
One goal from the fourth line is a bonus. Three is virtually unheard of.
"They showed up and played the right way," DeBoer said. "Right from the drop of the puck they put pucks behind the other teams defense, they had good support, they created a lot of chances, and got rewarded for it. I think Dell and them were the difference in the game early through the first half, until we got going a little bit."
