by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski beats Montreal Canadiens goalie Mike Condon for a goal in the first period on Monday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE–The Sharks played a great game Monday night against the fading Montreal Canadiens, beating them 6-2. Rest assure, fans, the Canadiens are not the team that dominated the NHL for years. This franchise was known as the New York Yankees of Hockey but they have not won a Stanley Cup since 1993. Many of the old-timers remember the great players such as Maurice Richard, Henri Richard, Jacques Lemaire, Boom-Boom Geoffreon, Jean Beliveau but that was long ago and faraway. These Canadiens are nowhere near thoise teams. The Canadiens signed former Shark Mike Brown just one day after being waived by the Sharks. That move showed how desparate they are for player. Brown played for Montreal and got a nice hand from the Sharks fans.

The Sharks played a terrific first period against the struggling Montreal Canadiens. They drew first blood with just 3:11 played in the first period. Joe Thornton scored his fifteenth goal of the year to give the Sharks an early 1-0. Tomas Hertl started the play as he passed the puck from behind the Montreal net to Justin Braun. Brown fed the puck to Joe Pavelski, who found Thornton open on the left side of the net. Joe put it past Montreal goalie Mike Condon for the tally. Pavelski and Braun earned assists on the play. The lead didn’t last long. The Canadiens Thomas Plekanec beat Martin Jones with 5:26 played to tie the game. P.K.Subban and Max Pacioretty assisted. The Sharks continued to play well and had several chances but could not light the lamp. Joe Pavelski scored with 15:55 played to put the Sharks in the lead 2-1. Joe Thornton and Brent Burnt assisted. For Burns, it was his 400th career point in the NHL. The Sharks led shots-on-goal 13-7.

The Sharks played well in the second period. They took a 3-1 lead with 3:11 played. Brent Burns notched his 21st goal of the year as he beat Condon from the right side of the net. Joe Thornton assisted on the play. So far in the game, Thornton has three points on a goal and two assists. The Canadiens refused to give up. they cut the deficit to one when former Shark, Torrey Mitchell, squeezed his way in between two defenders and, somehow, got a shot off that seemed to befuddle Sharks’ goalie Martin Jones. Paul Byron and Phillip Danault assisted. Danault was acquired by the Canadiens in a trade with the Blackhawks just before the trade deadline. The Canadiens led the Sharks in shots-on-goal in the period 10-9. Sharks lead 3-2 after forty minutes of action.

The Sharks poured in on in the third period, much to the delight of the 16,205 fans in attendance. They scored three times to ice the game as they won going away 6-2. Melker Karlsson scored with just 2:14 played. It was Karlsson’s eighth goal of the year..Chris Tierney and Dainius Zubrus assisted. the next goal came 83 seconds later. Recently acquired Nick Spaling scored his second goal as a member of the Sharks and his third goal of the season. Logan Couture and Paul Martin picked up points as they assisted on the play. Joe Pavelski scored the third goal of the period and the sixth and final goal of the game. It was the second goal of the night and twenty-ninth of the year for Pavelski. Chris Tierney  picked up his second point of the night on the assist and Brent Burns was credited with his second assist. Burns had three points in the game on a goal and two assists. Sharks win 6-2.

Game notes- with the win , the Sharks improve to 34-22-6 good for 74 points and improve their home record to 12-13-3. Brent Burns was awarded the third star of the night. The second star went to Joe Pavelski, who also had three points in the game. The first star went Joe Thornton.

The Sharks meet the Vancouver Canucks again Thursday night in Vancouver then return home to face the Canucks here in San Jose.