Sharks take big lead, hang on for win against Wild

SAN JOSE -- Logan Couture had a goal and three assists, and the San Jose Sharks hung on for a 6-5 win against the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center on Thursday.

Tomas Hertl had a goal and two assists for the Sharks (6-10-1), who have won consecutive games for the first time since winning three straight Oct. 10-16.
"There's situations we need to handle better, but I'm not going to be picky," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "Wins have been hard to come by, and we did enough to win a game. We'll move on to the next one."
WATCH: [All Wild vs. Sharks highlights]
Eric Staal had a goal and two assists for the Wild (5-10-1), who scored three straight goals in the third period to get within 6-5. Minnesota is 1-3-1 in its past five.
"I thought there was a chance," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Like I told them in between the second and third, this isn't over."
The Sharks scored four goals in the first, a season high for one period, and chased Wild goalie Alex Stalock from the game.

Couture made it 1-0 52 seconds in, ending a 13-game goal drought that matched the longest of his NHL career (April 4, 2015-Jan. 9, 2016).
"Maybe Al Stalock did me a favor over there," Couture said of the former San Jose goalie. "I texted him before the game, 'I need one buddy.' So maybe he let me get that one. Yeah, it felt good to see that one hit the back of the net."
Timo Meier gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead at 5:55, and Marcus Sorensen made it 3-0 at 16:40.
"We're finding a way as a team to be successful," Meier said. "I want to chip in any way I can. It's great to see we're going in the right direction as a team."
Defenseman Radim Simek scored his first goal in his second game of the season at 18:32 for a 4-0 lead. He had one goal in 41 games last season.
Luke Kunin scored for the Wild at 17:04 of the second period to make it 4-1, but Hertl made it 5-1 at 17:04.
After Staal scored at 17:59 to get Minnesota within 5-2, Evander Kane scored on the power play at 19:15 to make it 6-2.
"We'll take the four points," Kane said. "We did a lot of good things in that game. There were some breakdowns. We got a little too comfortable. We've just got to keep our foot on the gas for a full 60 minutes."
The Wild scored two goals in 1:14 in the third period. Brad Hunt made it 6-3 at 8:07, and Ryan Donato scored his first of the season to make 6-4 at 9:21.
Jason Zucker scored at 15:25 to make it 6-5.
"We had a flurry of emotions to start like that and then end like that, and still not get the reward," Staal said. "We had plenty of chances to tie, we just didn't get it past them. Our first period, I won't make any excuses about it."
Wild defenseman Ryan Suter hit the post with 11 seconds remaining, and Sharks goalie Martin Jones made saves on Zach Parise on a breakaway at 17:38 and on the rebound 17:39.
"We did a lot of good things, but a little too late," Kunin said. "We had some chances."
Jones made 21 saves.
Devan Dubnyk made 17 saves on 19 shots in his 500th NHL game after relieving Stalock to begin the second period.
Minnesota forward Marcus Foligno did not play after the first period because of a lower-body injury.
"I don't know to what extent or anything else," Boudreau said.

They said it

"[Evander] Kane did a great job selling it because he went off limping. Everyone thought he had a broken ankle, and he missed one shift. So you go figure it out. But that's a good job by him to change the momentum."-- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on a major penalty for slashing on Minnesota's Ryan Hartman in the third period
"It's the first time that I've gotten a real look on the first unit. And I'm playing with [four] great players. I just want to take advantage of it." -- Sharks forward Evander Kane on his NHL career-high seven power-play goals

Need to know

Staal has four goals and five assists during a six-game scoring streak. ... Wild forward Mats Zuccarello had an assist on Zucker's goal to extend his point streak to five games (three goals, three assists), but his three-game goal streak ended. ... Kane has three goals and two assists during a four-game point streak. ... Hertl has three goals and four assists in the past five games.

What's next

Wild: At the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-A PLUS, FS-N, NHL.TV)
Sharks: Host the Nashville Predators on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-TN, NHL.TV)