Photo credit: @LetsGoSharks

By: Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks rolled to their seventh straight win Tuesday night, romping the equally-as-hot Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in a rematch of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. Tomas Hertl scored his first hat trick since scoring 4 goals — yes, those four goals, on October 8th, 2013. Evander Kane picked up three assists and Joe Thornton scored the game-winner in his 1,000th game in Teal and Black. All-star Kris Letang and Derick Brassard scored for the Penguins. Martin Jones made 22 saves in net for the Sharks.

Tomas Hertl needed three goals to reach the 100-goal plateau and his empty-netter with 25 seconds left in regulation did the trick, icing the victory over a Penguins team that had won 10 of their last 12 games.

Pittsburgh got on the score sheet first after Letang netted his 11th goal of the season halfway through the first but a Sharks surge found team Teal up 2-1 after one. Marcus Sorensen tipped home his ninth goal of the season with eight minutes left in the period. Sorensen is fresh off signing a two-year contract extension. Hertl then scored his first of three after boxing out a defender on the boards before jamming to the net for his 17th goal of the season 14:05 into the first.

Joe Thornton continued to rack up the milestones, beating Matt Murray 3:39 into the middle period for his 10th goal of the season. Jumbo has now scored 10 goals or more in 18 seasons.

Hertl scored again 2:06 into the third period for the 4-1 lead, but Brassard netted his eighth of the year to pull the Pens within two with just under two minutes left. Hertl converted on the hat trick for his 19th goal of the season and a century mark in goals in his young career.

The Sharks will hit the road for four straight, facing the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow night in the desert. After that, they’ll face the Tampa Bay Lightning after ending their lengthy winning streak earlier in the month. After that, they’ll face the Florida Panthers and Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in a back-to-back before players disperse for the All-Star break.