Joel Ward scores thrice; Sharks top Carolina

Ward scored later in the first on a 2 on 1 with Marleau, as he kept the puck and fired a wrist shot past Hurricanes goalie Eddie Lack with 11:28 left in the first.

“It was awesome”, Pavelski said of Ward’s night. “It’s nice. We’re excited for him”.

“It’s just once you gain that trust and earn that respect from the guys, I think that confidence keeps building”, Ward said. I had him at a World Championships a couple years ago, he led our team in scoring.

While San Jose worked its way back into the win column, it marked a tough 48 hours for the Hurricanes. Carolina lost 3-0 in Los Angeles on Friday before facing its rested hosts on Saturday.

“A loss is a loss”, Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. We need those things.

The teams scored two goals each during a wide-open second period, leaving the Sharks with a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes.

He now has eight points in eight games with the Sharks (5 goals, 3 assists). Marc-Edouard Vlasic banked a shot from the blue line off the end boards, the puck came in front and got between Lack’s legs, where Pavelski got a stick on it for this third goal of the season. That signaled an end to Lack’s night.

“That team has a few new faces but for the most part they’re a veteran team and they understand what it takes to shut teams down and finish the game”, Carolina forward Kris Versteed said.

Carolina scored an odd one of its own at 10:43.

A monstrous showing from Ward, who has now scored five goals in his last three games.

While Ward is better known for scoring goals like his first of the night, he certainly has the shooting ability to beat netminders one on one.

Ward punched home a rebound at 1:21 left by Lack on Hertl’s backhand shot. His second came from a perfectly placed shot on a two-on-one break. Only Carolina defenseman Ryan Murphy was back as rookie partner Noah Hanifin was caught up ice after a turnover.

Carolina had the decisive edge in shot attempts, 65-38, and pushed hard late in the second period and early in the third as the Sharks appeared guilty of not being aggressive enough while maintaining the lead.

“I’m just trying to contribute”, Ward said, moments after Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels showered him in fans’ collected hats during his media scrum.

This is the kind of dirty goal Ward was signed to score.

The Hurricanes, who outshot the Sharks 7-6, had two power plays that followed.

Sharks goalie Martin Jones finished with 32 saves in the win. “It was important we got off to a good start, and he provided it for us”. We re getting our game back to where I think it needs to be, DeBoer said.

NOTES: D Paul Martin returned to the San Jose lineup on Saturday after missing the previous three games with a lower-body injury sustained during the team’s win in New Jersey on October. 16. He was originally drafted in the seventh round by San Jose in the 2006 National Hockey League draft.

Forwards Ben Smith (ear laceration) and Joonas Donskoi (lower body) also practiced Thursday.

The Sharks recalled forward John McCarthy from the Barracuda of the AHL.