SAN JOSE — At the conclusion of their busiest month as a team in nine years, the Sharks looked like a re-energized and motivated group Wednesday night at SAP Center.
The Sharks got second-period goals from forwards Rudolfs Balcers and Ryan Donato and another solid performance from goalie Martin Jones to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 and sweep the two-game series.
Nikolai Knyzhov’s insurance goal off an assist from Erik Karlsson in the third period, his first in the NHL, turned into the game-winner as the Sharks (15-16-4) captured their fourth straight game at home. Evander Kane added an empty netter as time expired in the third period.
“We didn’t give up a lot,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “We had some good (offensive) zone time, we were managing the puck properly, we didn’t have any major turnovers. It was one of those games where we stuck to the game plan from the drop of the puck.”
Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello both scored third period goals for the Wild, but Jones made 26 saves to improve to 5-1-1 in his last seven starts.
With the win, the Sharks moved four points back of the idle St. Louis Blues for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. The Sharks play the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Friday and Saturday. The Sharks beat Los Angeles on March 22 and 24 at home.
After the series against the Kings, the Sharks return home for a five-game homestand, with three against the Anaheim Ducks (April 6, 12 and 14) and two with Los Angeles (April 9 and 10).
“Winning two at home against L.A., winning two against Minnesota this week, big wins. We’ve got to try and convert some of these efforts on the road now,” Boughner said. “It’s just a matter of taking this home game and taking it on the road with us. That’s going to be key.”
Brent Burns assisted on both of the Sharks’ second-period goals.
Burns started a breakout with a long pass to Tomas Hertl, who then fed Balcers as he streaked toward the Minnesota net. Balcers then beat Wild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen with a nifty move for his fourth goal of the season at the 4:41 mark of the second period.
The Sharks then scored on the power play for just the second time in eight games. Burns snapped the puck toward the net that was collected by Donato, who moved it toward his stick and maneuvered around Kahkonen for his sixth of the season at the 9:22 mark of the second.
Karlsson and Burns combined for three assists Wednesday. Combined with Monday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Wild when Karlsson had two goals and Radim Simek had one, the Sharks got four goals from their defensemen this series.
“With our defenseman jumping in and creating offense tonight, it helps,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “It’s big when everyone chips and everyone’s scoring goals. It’s nice to see.”
The Sharks didn’t make any lineup changes from Monday night when they beat the 4-3 in a shootout.
Jeffrey Viel played in his second straight game after he made his NHL debut Monday, getting into a fight in his first shift, and Jones started for the fifth time in the last six games.
In his previous six starts before Wednesday, going back to a March 13 game in Anaheim, Jones had a 4-1-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage with one shutout.
Wednesday’s game was the Sharks’ 17th and last for the month of March, concluded their busiest month in nine years. The Sharks entered the game with a 7-7-2 record this month and tied with the Kings for sixth place in the West Division.
The last time the Sharks played 17 games in a month was in March 2012. They went 7-7-3 that month but still finished second in the then-five team Pacific Division with a 43-29-10 record.