Couture, Jones lead Sharks past Canadiens

SAN JOSE -- Logan Couture scored two goals and had two assists, and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Montreal Canadiens at SAP Center for the 11th straight time, 5-2 on Tuesday.
Martin Jones made 28 saves for the Sharks, and Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton scored.

WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Sharks highlights]
The Sharks (2-3-0) salvaged a second win in their season-opening five-game homestand. Now they'll hit the road for five games.
"It was important," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We needed a win. I think obviously we didn't have the start we wanted. We wanted to get a good start here at home and for whatever reason we put ourselves in a spot where we really needed a win tonight to feel good going on the road trip, and we got it done. I think we're getting a little better every game."
Jonathan Drouin and Shea Weber scored for Montreal (1-4-1), which lost its fifth straight game. Carey Price made 30 saves and fell to 2-7-1 for his career against San Jose.

The Canadiens haven't won in San Jose since Nov. 23, 1999, when they defeated the Sharks 3-2 in overtime.
"It's a very poor start from our team, from myself, from a lot of individuals," Montreal forward Max Pacioretty said. "But who's going to feel sorry for us? Tomorrow we play another good team [the Los Angeles Kings] with an opportunity to turn this around. So as upset as we are right now, it doesn't do us any good to feel sorry for ourselves.
"It's a good time to look in the mirror and see what we're made of because a lot of people are probably doubting this team right now."
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead 53 seconds into the second period on Pavelski's first goal of the season. Kevin Labanc's point shot deflected off Pavelski, then Weber, and went past Price.
"Obviously we didn't have the homestand we wanted, coming in 1-3," Pavelski said. "A chance to leave on a positive note and take a little momentum onto the road. Guys stepped up tonight."

San Jose increased its lead to 3-1 at 8:03 when Hertl scored a power-play goal, tipping in a pass from Thornton.
Weber cut San Jose's lead to 3-2 with a power-play goal at 10:37 when he beat Jones with a slap shot from the left circle.
San Jose made it 4-2 on the power play on Couture's second goal at 13:24. Thornton scored into an empty net with 43 seconds remaining in the third period.
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead when Couture scored on a rebound at 3:50 of the first period.
Montreal tied it 1-1 16 seconds later on Drouin's wrist shot from the left circle.

Goal of the game

On Couture's second goal, Pavelski showed off his soccer skills when he kicked the puck out of heavy traffic in the slot to Couture, who scored from close range. "That was pretty special," Couture said. "I don't know if he knew I was there, but to be able to keep his balance and kick it over was pretty cool."

Save of the game

The Sharks led 3-2 when Jones stopped Canadiens forward Charles Hudon on a breakaway with 7:56 remaining in the second period. Jones made a blocker save, then a right pad save a second later when Hudon tried to knock in his own rebound.

Highlight of the game

Couture took advantage of some good bounces and his puck-handling skill to give San Jose a 1-0 lead. Hertl deflected Justin Braun's shot from the right point wide left of the net. The puck hit the backboards and caromed to Couture on the other side. Price moved quickly to his left, but Couture cut the other way and scored into a wide-open net on a wrist shot. "I had some net to shoot at right away but I figured he'd be sliding pretty hard, so I tried to outwait him and luckily nobody was there."

They said it

"I think there was definitely some lack of discipline." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien, after his team gave up two power-play goals on seven chances and went 1-for-6 with the man advantage
"He was excellent. He was our best player. We need that. Key saves at the right time." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on goaltender Martin Jones

Need to know

The Sharks have killed 19 of their past 20 penalties. ... Weber had four hits, two blocked shots and two shots to go with his goal. ... Sharks rookie defenseman Tim Heed had an assist for his first NHL point. … Canadiens rookie defenseman Victor Mete also had an assist for his first career NHL point.

What's next

Canadiens: At the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN; TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Sharks: At the New Jersey Devils on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, MSG+, NHL.TV)