SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period of his 500th game with San Jose and the Sharks went on to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Thursday night for their third straight win.
Ryane Clowe added a power-play goal, Jason Demers had two assists and Thomas Greiss made 23 saves in his first game since Dec. 3 as the Sharks followed up road wins over nemesis Vancouver and Anaheim with one against the NHL’s worst team.
Vinny Prospal scored and Curtis Sanford made 37 saves for the Blue Jackets, who lost for the 18th time in 20 games all-time in San Jose. One of those wins came last season when Columbus won 3-0 behind a hat trick by Rick Nash, and the other was in 2004 before Thornton joined the Sharks.
