NHL: San Jose 5, Colorado 2

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 22 (UPI) -- Patrick Marleau recorded his second hat trick in as many weeks Thursday night as San Jose rolled over Colorado in their series opener, 5-2.

Niko Dimitrakos collected three assists to start the Western Conference semifinal series.

Marleau scored three times in Game 2 of the conference quarterfinals, helping San Jose eliminate the St. Louis Blues in five games. He was shut out in the final three contests of that series, but helped the Sharks take a page from Colorado's script with a three-goal first period.

Marleau was left unchecked in the slot, got a pass from Jonathan Cheechoo and wristed a shot past goaltender David Aebischer just under 11 minutes into the game to put the Sharks ahead.

Vincent Damphousse doubled the lead less than two minutes later, weaving past defenseman Adam Foote before beating Aebischer with a wrister from the left faceoff circle.

Defenseman Scott Hannan capped the flurry on the power play at 19:07, scoring off a scramble while teammate Alyn McCauley pinned Aebischer in the crease.