Sharks hand Blue Jackets second straight loss

COLUMBUS -- The San Jose Sharks won't get style points for their 3-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday, but that doesn't matter.
"Good, sloppy road win. We'll take it," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said.

It was the first of a five-game trip for San Jose, who set a Sharks record last season with 28 road wins.
Patrick Marleau's empty-net, power-play goal proved to be the difference even though the Sharks (2-0-0) didn't know it when he scored his first of the season with 34 seconds left.
Josh Anderson scored 11 seconds later for Columbus (0-2-0) to make the final seconds interesting with an extra attacker.
Mikkel Boedker and Joel Ward scored, and Martin Jones made 27 saves for San Jose.
San Jose led 2-0 after the first period before Columbus rookie defenseman Zach Werenski scored his first NHL goal early in the third.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves for Columbus, including 19 in the second period.
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 9:22 on Boedker's first goal for San Jose since the former Arizona Coyotes forward signed as a free agent on July 1.
"It's nice to score and help the team get the lead," he said. "It was definitely a good one to get out of the way."
San Jose made it 2-0 on Ward's first goal of the season from a centering pass by Brent Burns at 14:54.
Werenski, the No. 8 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, got his second point in his second NHL game at 3:44 of the third, 10 seconds into the Blue Jackets' second power play, to make it 2-1.
"In the third period we definitely took it to another level," Werenski said. "We have to do that the whole game, that's all."
Columbus had momentum but couldn't tie the game.
"There's no panic on the bench as ugly as it looked for a few minutes there," DeBoer said. "I thought our composure was still good, our confidence was still good."

Goal of the game

The Sharks' second goal, at 14:54 of the first period, left Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky no chance to make a save. Burns pinched deep and sent a pass from the right half-wall to the crease for a one-timer by Ward, who got inside position on Columbus defenseman Jack Johnson.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky kept the deficit at 2-0 late in the second period by stopping a 3-on-1. Melker Karlsson came down the right wing and dropped a pass to Matt Nieto. Nieto's shot was redirected by Brenden Dillon at the goalmouth but Bobrovsky slid across for the stop.

Unsung moment of the game

A tripping penalty to Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard at 17:52 of the third not only stopped Columbus' push for the tying goal but negated a man advantage the Blue Jackets would have had when Bobrovsky was later pulled for an extra attacker and Marleau scored into an empty net for a 3-1 lead.

Highlight of the game

Werenski scored on a wrist shot that deflected off the stick of San Jose defenseman Justin Braun, went through the legs of Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno then past Jones. "I wasn't sure if it went in. When everyone started coming after me I was pretty fired up," Werenski said.

They said it

"This is a game where [Bobrovsky] gives us a chance. We're still having problems generating offense. This is a game if you turn it around you might find a way to win in the end." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"We were out of the gate a little better than they were and we were able to hang on." -- Sharks forward Mikkel Boedker
"You get that early lead and we're outshooting them. I thought Bobrovsky was excellent. He had real quality opportunities to extend the lead, and when that doesn't happen you let their team hang around and you're fighting for your life down the stretch." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"You don't have a choice to choose 30, or 20 or 40 shots, so you try to be focused on each shot and go from there." -- Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 35 saves

Need to know

Columbus did not have a shot on goal the last 16:03 of the first period. San Jose had nine during the span for an 11-3 advantage for the period. The next Columbus shot came 2:04 into the second by Brandon Saad on the power play. The Sharks outshot the Blue Jackets 38-28. … Columbus defenseman Ryan Murray had a streak of 85 consecutive games played stopped because of a lower-body injury sustained in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

What's next

Sharks: At the New York Rangers on Monday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, CSN-CA, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday (7 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, NHL.TV)