Sharks Douse Ducks, 5-2, In San Jose
SAN JOSE (AP) -- Joe Thornton got his wing men back, and they produced another big offensive night.
Dany Heatley scored twice, Thornton matched a franchise scoring record and the Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 at HP Pavilion on Saturday night.
Logan Couture, Niclas Wallin and Patrick Marleau also scored for the Sharks, who won their second straight and for the fourth time in five games.
"It was only a matter of time before we got our offense going," Thornton said. "We switched back to lines that worked for us last year and we were going to the net."
Thornton, Heatley and Marleau comprised one of the top offensive lines in the NHL last season but weren't together until Wednesday night's 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils, in which they combined for 13 points. They added another seven points against the Ducks.
"Don't get used to it, though," Thornton said. "We're not going to score five goals every night. I think we were still shaking off the rust from earlier in the season."
Thornton had an assist on each of the first three goals, and recorded a point on each of the Sharks' last eight goals to tie a franchise record. Antero Niittymaki remained unbeaten in regulation play by stopping 22 shots.
Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry scored for the Ducks, who have lost three of four. Curtis McElhinney stopped 36 shots.
"We didn't play the way we needed to right off the drop," Getzlaf said. "We can't get scored upon on a faceoff play."
Of the 21 combined penalties, 12 were for fighting. These teams were whistled for 41 penalties in a preseason game.
"There's obviously an animosity developing," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We didn't seem to get involved in the game. There's always going to be fatigue, but it didn't look like we had much structure."
The Sharks faced their first Pacific Division rival of the new season, and the tension created in the preseason seemed to build again.
"There were five or six fights, so you definitely know there's a rivalry," Couture said. "The fans were getting into it and we can hear their chants on the bench. This was a game you get more pumped up for, and it's good when it comes with a win."
Heatley scored 36 seconds into the game. He made an awkward backhanded flip that eased into the net after he took a pass from Thornton, who picked up a rebounded shot by Dan Boyle.
Couture added a power-play goal late in the period to make it 2-0.
"Anytime you get on a power play you want to score," Couture said. "I think in the last couple of games we're starting to turn that corner."
Heatley scored his second goal on a power play early in the second period for his 55th career multigoal game.
Wallin scored his first goal with the Sharks after Scott Nichol picked up a loose puck along the boards and centered it to him. It was also Wallin's first goal in 90 NHL games.
Marleau scored late in the second period after picking up a loose puck in his own zone and beating defenseman Andreas Lilja to the net for the goal.
Getzlaf and Perry scored in the third period for the Ducks.
Briefly: Forward Josh Green, recalled from Syracuse (AHL) on Friday, made his Ducks debut after he played 322 games for the Los Angeles Kings. ... Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler missed a sixth game because of a neck injury. ... Sharks defenseman Derek Joslin has been practicing with the Sharks for a few days while wearing a protective glove on his surgically repaired thumb. ... The Sharks had 19 power-play shots in the first two periods. ... Thornton has 52 points in 47 games against the Ducks. ... Anaheim right wing Teemu Selanne has 91 points in 73 games against the Sharks. ... Heatley has four goals and seven assists in five games.
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