The San Jose Sharks' trade for goaltender James Reimer continued paying dividends at SAP Center on Sunday. Reimer had a 25-save shutout, and the Sharks defeated the Coyotes 3-0, winning for the fourth time in five games.
Reimer, who made his fourth start in place of No. 1 goaltender Martin Jones since coming to San Jose from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 27, had his second shutout of the season, each with the Sharks; he made 31 saves in a 3-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers on March 8. Reimer is 3-1-0 with San Jose.
Joel Ward scored his 20th goal for the Sharks in the first period, and Tomas Hertl had a power-play goal in the second. Joe Pavelski scored an empty-net goal with 1:05 remaining. San Jose moved within five points of the first-place Los Angeles Kings and one point of the second-place Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division.
Goaltender Mike Smith made 33 saves for the Coyotes, who were shut out for the second straight night; Phoenix lost 2-0 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Phoenix are 11 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Ward gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 18:28 of the first period, redirecting Brendon Dillon's wrist shot from the point past Smith. Ward's goal was his third in two games. He reached 20 goals for the second time in his career and is four shy of his career high set in 2013-2014 with the Washington Capitals.
Ward's goal came 59 seconds after the Sharks killed off the second of back-to-back power plays, including 39 seconds when Phoenix had a 5-on-3 advantage. Justin Braun went to the penalty box at 14:07 for interference, and Patrick Marleau joined him at 15:29 for high sticking. The Coyotes went 0-for-4 on the power play; they were 0-for-6 Saturday.
The Sharks extended their lead to 2-0 at 12:02 of the second period on Hertl's power-play goal. His shot from close range bounced off a defender and between Smith's pads. Hertl ended the Coyotes' streak of 18 penalty kills. Brent Burns had an assist on Pavelski's goal, giving him 65 points for the season, a new Sharks franchise record for defensemen, passing Sandis Ozolinsh (1993-94).
Sharks Quotes
Peter DeBoer: "[Reimer] was really solid. I thought we did a good job in front of him, letting him see most shots, but he made a couple big saves too at the right time. That's a great luxury to have, both guys playing the way they are right now."James Reimer: "It's hard to take credit for that one tonight. I thought our team played one of the better games I've seen them play in a long time, especially with it being a back-to-back. I thought they were up, they were skating, and they were outworking them. For me, it was just a matter of sitting back there and watching them do their thing."
"We felt like we were all over them, giving them no time and space. We were just on our game. The last couple games, I think we've been playing really well. Hopefully we keep that going."
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