AP Photo/Ben Margot

By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — Fast and physical. Strong forecheck. Speedy transitions. Stingy defense. Young yet powerful. Playing well for 60 minutes.

This is the team San Jose Sharks inspire to be this season. And this is the team they were on Thursday night against Minnesota Wild.

It proved to be a gritty win, but Sharks grabbed another two points in the standings. These were the two points they deserved, as they outbattled the Wild 2-1 in a close contest. Sharks did it despite missing several key players who went out with injuries recently, but it was the strong team play that helped.

“It was a good night for our team – I felt like everybody felt into their place,” said happy Sharks’ head coach Todd McLellan after the game. “The so-called score was produced on the power play. We made great plays and finished. We got really good minutes from [Jason Sheppard’s] line and Tierney’s line. Everybody played to their strength, and it was a good team win. A really good team win.”

Sharks played well from the beginning, creating chances early on, and not letting too many happen for Minnesota. They dominated the puck and the shot count, but it took them almost 35 minutes to score the first goal. Brent Burns’ shot on the power play reached the net all the way from the blue line. Burns got the puck from Joe Thornton and saw an opportunity to shoot. His slap shot was a good one and helped him score his ninth goal of the season.

The Wild tied the game at the start of the third period when Christian Folin scored on a similar blast from the blue line. Sharks had the puck just seconds before, tried to get it out of the zone, but lost it and one pass lead to another and a big heavy shot by Folin was not the one Alex Stalock saved.

But San Jose came right back in on the next shift and took the lead again. Joe Thornton was in one of his favorite spots on the ice – in one of the corners – and spotted Joe Pavelski who was skating into the zone with some speed. The pass was straight to Pavelski’s stick and Little Joe put some power into it, watching the puck go into the net for his 15th goal of the season.

Sharks were under pressure from the Wild in the final minutes of the game, but solid defense and great goaltending from Stalock (who started his third NHL game in a row – a first of his career) kept the Sharks with the two points on the night.

The Sharks now won 6 of their last 7 and their team play and confidence is on the rise. Their next opponent is Nashville Predators who they play back at the SAP Center on Saturday.