Burns scores winner for Sharks against Ducks in 1,000th NHL game

SAN JOSE --Brent Burns scored the winning goal in his 1,000th NHL game, and the San Jose Sharks ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center on Thursday.

Burns scored on a slap shot from above the right face-off circle at 10:21 of the third period to put the Sharks ahead 3-2. Tomas Hertl scored into an empty net at 19:37 for the 4-2 final. It was Hertl's 200th NHL point.
"It's just nice to score a goal again," said Burns, who last scored Dec. 2, 11 games ago. "It had been so long. It's nice to contribute. I feel good about that. Coming out of the break I think it's huge to just win a game. Three days can be a lot for us. To come out of it with a win puts us right back in motion and it's a lot easier than to battle back."
WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Sharks highlights]
Melker Karlsson and Marcus Sorensen also scored, and Barclay Goodrow had three assists for the Sharks (20-12-7), who were 0-1-2 in the past three games. Martin Jones made 25 saves.
"What a great career," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said of Burns. "For a guy who was drafted as a forward and changed positions and got traded and wins the Norris Trophy as a defenseman. Just the way he approaches the game and what he brings to the rink every day. It's a great accomplishment for him from where he's come from, but it looks like he's got a lot more games left in him."

Jakob Silfverberg and Kiefer Sherwood scored for the Ducks (19-15-5), who lost their fourth straight game.
"I think the biggest thing is we just have to continue to get better and work every day," Sherwood said. "I think hockey's a funny game, but it's pretty fair. When things are going well it's because you're putting in the work and you're doing the right thing, so I think we have to clean up a few things and stay structured and I think we'll start to see those bounces and the reward."
Ducks starting goaltender John Gibson gave up one goal on 16 shots but was replaced by Chad Johnson after the first period because of an upper-body injury. Johnson made 20 saves.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said Gibson was injured during the first period and won't have an update until Friday.
"We have two capable goalies and I thought [Johnson] went in and gave us a chance. He was good for us," Carlyle said.
The Ducks tied it 2-2 at 3:53 of the third period on Sherwood's goal from the low slot before Burns responded with the game-winner.
"It's great," Jones said. "A special game for him, and to get the winner on a shot like that."

Carlyle said the puck hit the netting and play should have been stopped before Burns' goal.
"You can plainly see there's five players on our hockey club stopped playing, but that happens," Carlyle said.
Anaheim took a 1-0 lead at 10:33 of the first period on Silfverberg's power-play goal.
San Jose tied it 1-1 at 18:05 when Karlsson scored off a rebound of Joonas Donskoi's shot.
Sorensen gave San Jose a 2-1 lead at 5:44 of the second period, knocking in a loose puck from the crease. Carlyle challenged, but after a video review it was determined Sharks forward Joe Pavelski did not interfere with Johnson and the call was upheld.

They said it

"I always warm up and prepare at the start of the games, you never know in this league what's going to happen. I was as prepared as I could be for that situation, but you're never fully into it compared to when you know you're going to start and your mindset the whole day is different, but it's part of my job and I'm confident with my ability. It's just kind of getting out there and getting warm and getting into the flow of things." -- Ducks goaltender Chad Johnson
"We'll take the win. I think it was what an after-break game would look like. It was a little sloppy and a little messy but we found a way. We got saves at the right time and we got some timely goals so we'll take the good from it, and the real good of it is it's two big points." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Need to know

Burns played a team-high 29:15, led the Sharks with six shots and had three takeaways, three hits and three blocked shots. He has played in 428 straight regular-season games. … Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson served the second game of his two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Austin Wagner on Saturday. … Hertl has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past six games. … Jones improved to 4-1-1 in his past six starts. … Silfverberg's goal was his 10th, one behind Pontus Aberg for the Ducks lead.

What's next

Ducks: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Sharks:At the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; SNW, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)