Timo Meier produced his second consecutive two-goal game Tuesday night for the San Jose Sharks, who scored the first four goals before holding off a third-period rally by the New Jersey Devils to earn a 5-2 win in Newark, N.J.
Meier scored both goals for the Sharks on Saturday in a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. His effort Tuesday was the 12th multi-goal game of his career.
Noah Gregor, Jacob Middleton and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Sharks, who have won the first two games of their third five-game road trip of the season and 4-1-0 in their past five games overall. Alexander Barabanov logged two assists, and James Reimer made 32 saves.
Tomas Tatar and Jesper Bratt scored in the third period for the Devils, who have lost six of eight (2-4-2). Mackenzie Blackwood recorded 26 saves.
Gregor opened the scoring 4:25 after the opening faceoff when he pounced on the rebound of a redirect by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and shoveled the rebound over Blackwood’s shoulder.
The Sharks won battles for the puck deep in the Devils’ zone to set up their next two goals in the second period. Barabanov poked the puck past New Jersey’s Michael McLeod and Dougie Hamilton and to Gregor, who was surrounded by Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Graves but was able to dish to a wide-open Middleton. With Nathan Bastian scrambling to get in position for the block, Middleton fired a shot over Blackwood’s stick shoulder at the 4:14 mark.
A little more than six minutes later, four players — two from each team — were vying for the puck before the Sharks’ Logan Couture managed to slap it into the left faceoff circle to Meier. The winger was all alone as he sent a shot past Blackwood and off the far post for a power-play goal at 10:39.
Karlsson scored just 41 seconds later to extend the lead to 4-0.
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Tatar ended Reimer’s shutout bid with 10:48 left, when he put back the rebound of a shot by Pavel Zacha.
The Devils pulled within 4-2 with 7:11 remaining after Andreas Johnsson pounced on a turnover in the neutral zone and fired to a streaking Bratt, who beat Jones from near the top of the left faceoff circle.
Meier ended New Jersey’s comeback hopes by scoring an empty-netter with 3:01 left.
–Field Level Media