SAN JOSE -- The Sharks are really tough to beat at home, and one of the two keys to that success is scoring in the first minute of the opening period.
The other key is the presence of Brent Burns who is the catalyst of the Sharks offense.
Burns proved it again on Friday with his first career hat trick as the Sharks hang on to beat the Blues 6-3.
Burns gave the Sharks the lead with a goal 35 seconds into the contest. Burns has played in four games since his return from injury and the team is 11-0-1 with him in the lineup.
When asked about scoring his first career hat trick against a quality opponent in the Blues, Burns said, "We knew it was going to be a big game against these guys. There's a lot of history going on and two teams that are at the top of our game so it was big. It's pretty special."
San Jose came out flying, outshooting St. Louis 10-2 netting four goals. Apparently the team's Thanksgiving practice didn't give them a turkey hangover unlike the Blues who looked like a team better suited doing anything other than playing hockey in the first 20 minutes.
But the Blues came storming back down 4-0 and luckily for Team Teal, number 88 really made the difference between winning and losing with his three goal performance.
The Sharks have done a good job of rattling the Blues who are one of the better defensive teams in the league but have given up six goals twice in two games to San Jose. Of the four regulation losses by St. Louis, two have come against the Sharks.
Blues center David Backes said the loss keeps them humble.
"They've brought us down to reality twice now and something where we've got to look deep within and evaluate ourselves but it's a great team in that locker room. And we've felt we've had some good success this year too but they've had our number head to head."
Turning point
Burns' third goal which puts the Sharks ahead 5-3 after St. Louis scored three unanswered goals to make it a one goal game.
Video highlights
Game summary
Contenders
Brent Burns - He is the ignitor on the Sharks top line and like any team with a healthy roster, when everyone is able to play comfortably in their usual roles it makes the machine run smoothy.
Joe Thornton - Two goals in two games for Jumbo Joe who only has four on the season. Anytime he lights the lamp it's obviously a good thing.
Logan Couture - three assists in the first period. Couture has 26 points, second only to Thornton for the team lead.
Tommy Wingels - He now has 17 points, eight goals, nine assists and his breakaway goal shows he's getting more comfortable in his role on the second line with Patrick Marleau and Couture.
Ian Cole - scores his first goal of the season on a 4-on-4 situation after the Blues got a good scoring chance on the breakaway.
Pretenders
Brian Elliott - Granted he's the backup goalie but for a team that had allowed only five goals in five games, he's got to do a better job than giving up four in the first period. The goal allowed to Wingels was definitely soft, getting a glove on the puck and watching it trickle into the net anyway. His reward for his shotty play in the net was watching from the bench for the remainder of the game.
David Backus - got a minor for cross checking and then got into a skirmish with Matt Pelech and Mike Brown in front of Antti Niemi. He ensured the misconduct penalty by shoving Brown when he was being escorted to the box. He redeemed himself in the third period with a power play goal after Brad Stuart got whistled for tripping.
Blues Power Play - The top ranked man advantage was only 1-for-7.
Kevin Shattenkirk - twice penalized and twice the Sharks score on the power play. The Sharks tried for a hat trick against Shattenkirk on his third infraction but St. Louis managed to kill off that penalty.
No day off for the Sharks to enjoy this one, it's the Anaheim Ducks up next Saturday night, the co-leaders of the Pacific Division.
Said Sharks coach Todd McLellan, "It's a conference divisional game against a rival of ours...they continue to put points in the bank so it's our first opportunity to see them this year. Both teams have played three in four (nights) or pretty close to it. We'll show up and finish the homestand properly because when we get out on the road it won't get any easier."
Notes
San Jose is now outscoring teams 36-13 in the first period. Their +23 first period goal differential currently ranks first in the NHL. ... This season the Sharks have scored nine times in the first 2:00 of a game. ... The Sharks scored four goals in the first period, tying a season-high for most goals in a period (also Oct. 8, 2nd period vs. New York Rangers). ... The Sharks have scored a goal in the opening minute six times and San Jose is 4-2-0 in such games.