San Jose, CA (Sports Network) – Dany Heatley scored two goals and Antti Niemi made 28 saves, as the San Jose Sharks doubled up the St. Louis Blues, 4-2, to halt a six-game losing streak. Joe Thornton and Jamie McGinn also tallied for the Sharks, who avoided a seventh straight defeat at HP Pavilion.
“It’s been a while since we won, so everybody can just exhale for a little bit,” Thornton said. “But still, we’ve still got to work hard. This doesn’t stop here.”
B.J. Crombeen and Erik Johnson lit the lamp for St. Louis, which has dropped six of its last seven games. Jaroslav Halak allowed four goals on 29 shots. Heatley tipped Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s shot from the blue line past Halak to give San Jose a 3-2 lead at the 4:35 mark of the third period. McGinn provided an insurance goal at 12:57.
Crombeen staked the Blues to a 1-0 lead 5:23 into the contest, but Heatley countered on a power play at 14:18 of the first period. Thornton’s power-play goal made it 2-1 at 11:57 of the middle stanza. The Blues pulled even when Johnson beat Niemi along the ice with a shot from the bottom of the left circle late in the second period.
San Jose has won 12 of the last 16 meetings…The Blues fell to 7-2-4 when tied after two periods this season.