Brent Burns added another chapter in showing his importance to the Sharks on Friday.
The converted defenseman collected his first career hat trick, capping the three-goal effort with a power-play strike that halted a St. Louis comeback attempt, as San Jose won for the fourth straight time, 6-3.
Burns added an assist on rookie Tomas Hertl's empty-net goal to give him eight goals and 14 points in 12 games this season. The Sharks are 11-0-1 and have outscored opponents 54-22 with Burns in the lineup as opposed to 6-3-4 (32-30 combined score) while he was recently sidelined by injury.
"What can we say about that guy," teammate Tommy Wingels asked. "He's a big, strong guy out there. And he creates momentum for the team, creates space for other players and he can score goals here and there."
Burns scored twice during San Jose's four-goal opening period when the Sharks blitzed the Blues at the outset of the 1 p.m. matinee start.
"We just looked real, real, real sharp at the start of the game," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said.
"That wasn't St. Louis in the first period. That was a different team," Sharks center Logan Couture added. "They showed in the second and third that they're a very good team, and we made a lot of mistakes that they capitalized on which we're not very pleased about."
When the Blues struck for a 4-on-4 goal at 11:19 of the third period, the Sharks were suddenly holding on to a one-goal lead.
"There was a little frustration," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "We had chances to finish them off, but we didn't and we got sloppy at times. They're a first-place club for a reason, and they're not going away."
But when Burns let go with his unpredictable shot from the left circle to beat Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak, who was screened by Joe Pavelski, the two-goal lead lifted the hosts and deflated the St. Louis attack.
"You have to score there," Thornton said. "You don't know what's going to happen with the goalie pulled late."
Burns wasn't all of the offense as he was one of five Sharks to enjoy multi-point games. Thornton scored his fourth goal of the season to snap San Jose's 0-for-14 power-play drought 3:01 into the game for a 2-0 lead, and assisted on two other goals.
Couture assisted on three of San Jose's first-period goals. Besides scoring his team-leading 13th goal late, Hertl added an assist and Pavelski chipped in two assists. The effort benefited goalie Antti Niemi, who was strong in the second and third periods when the Blues rebounded.
"You have to hold serve in your home building," Wingels said. "When you're home you've got to get the points that are there."
Briefly: Defenseman Jason Demers, left wing James Sheppard and right wing John McCarthy were healthy scratches. ... There was no retaliation against St. Louis' Maxim Lapierre, who was suspended five games for his hit that concussed Dan Boyle when the two teams met Oct. 15 in St. Louis.
Who: Ducks (18-7-3) at Sharks (17-3-5)
Where: SAP Center
When: 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: CSNCA / 98.5, 102.1
Ross McKeon is a freelance writer.
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