In a battle for position in the middling yet jam-packed Pacific Division, the Sharks moved ahead of Arizona with a 3-1 win at Gila River Arena on Thursday night.
The Sharks (24-18-3, 51 points) improved to 6-0-1 in their last seven games, and are tied with Vancouver for second place in the division. San Jose has three games in hand on Vancouver, though.
Arizona (22-19-5, 49 points) dropped its fourth straight (0-3-1).
The Sharks scored twice in the first period.
Tommy Wingels got it started with just his second goal in the last 22 games. On a broken play, he snagged a loose puck and dropped it to the ice before wheeling around and slinging in a shot from the high slot at 6:23.
[RELATED: Shot of the Game: Donskoi, Couture aid in Wingels' fourth goal]
Midway through the period, the Sharks’ fourth line of Chris Tierney, Mike Brown and Melker Karlsson caused havoc around the crease and goalie Louie Domingue, with Tierney getting credit for his sixth score when the puck somehow deflected into the net at 9:56.
Since returning from a brief stint in the minors, Tierney has at least one point in six of seven games (3g, 4a).
The second period didn't see any goals, but goaltender Martin Jones made his best stop midway through regulation, getting his right pad on a Shane Doan shot from close range on a pass from the corner by Max Domi.
Arizona’s Brad Richardson cut the Sharks lead in half when he slipped in front of the net and jammed in his own rebound at 11:24 of the third, as the Coyotes made a late push.
That was all that would get past Jones, though, as he improved to 5-1-0 in his last six games while allowing just 11 goals over that span.
Patrick Marleau’s late empty-net power play goal, his first in 10 games, capped the scoring.
The Sharks and Coyotes were meeting for the first of five times in the second half of the season. Arizona visits SAP Center on Feb. 13 in the next head-to-head matchup.
Arizona lost for just the second time in regulation against Pacific Division opponents (10-2-2).
The Sharks improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight road games, where they are 16-6-2 overall. They are 6-2-0 in their last eight games in Arizona.
Special teams
There were no penalties in the game until the third period. Arizona went 0-for-1, while the Sharks were 1-for-2.
San Jose is 5-for-17 with a man advantage over their last six games (29.4 percent).
In goal
Jones, who had been off since Saturday, improved to 21-13-2 on the season with 23 saves.
After going 7-0-3 in his first 10 starts this season, Domingue has now lost his last two. He allowed two goals on 22 Sharks shot.
Lineup
Dainius Zubrus was activated off of injured reserve, but did not play.
Ben Smith was placed on waivers and cleared on Wednesday, but he has not yet been reassigned to the AHL Barracuda.
Joe Thornton increased his point streak to seven games (2g, 7a), assisting on Marleau’s goal.
Up next
The Sharks have three straight home games leading up to the All-Star break at the end of the month. A rare 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon game against Minnesota is next up on the slate, as the Sharks will try to avenge a 2-0 home loss to the Wild on Dec. 12.
