Joe Thornton was involved in all three San Jose goals, scoring once and assisting on the other two as the Sharks rallied to beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Thursday to take sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
Thornton scored 8:11 into the third period to tie the score at 2-2 and sent a puck on net from the left boards that Brent Burns deflected in for the winner with 3:59 remaining.
"I just saw Burnsie's big body in front and just threw it in there," said Thornton.
Patrick Marleau also scored for the Sharks, who bounced back from a 3-2 loss to Florida on Tuesday to win for the seventh time in their last eight games. Antti Niemi had 16 saves to get the victory.
Mathieu Perreault and Teemu Selanne scored for the Ducks, who have struggled to a 2-4-2 record since winning their first two post-Olympic games. Frederik Andersen gave up three goals on 28 shots.
[SportsNetwork.com]
