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SAN JOSE — Sharks defenseman Brent Burns may have entered Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks with just four goals on the year. But he’s made one thing abundantly clear over the course of his 1,000 career regular season games: he isn’t afraid to shoot.
Burns celebrated his milestone evening with a game-winning goal, as he beat Ducks goalie Chad Johnson with 9:39 left in the third period to break a tie and help give the Sharks a 4-2 victory at SAP Center.
Burns, in his 1,000th NHL game, took a pass from Brenden Dillon and wired a shot past Johnson for his fifth goal of the season, as the Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak and began the post-Christmas schedule on a positive note.
“It’s just nice to score a goal again. It’s been a while,” said Burns, whose last goal before Thursday came Dec. 2 in Montreal. “It’s nice to contribute and feel good about that.’
Melker Karlsson, Marcus Sorensen and Tomas Hertl also scored and Barclay Goodrow added three assists as the Sharks remained in second place in the Pacific Division with 47 points, two back of first place Calgary.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones finished with 25 saves — including eight in an eventful second period — for his third victory in his last six starts.
Ducks starting goalie John Gibson made 15 saves in the first period but came out of the game in the intermission with an upper body injury. Johnson finished the game with 20 saves.
The Sharks and Ducks were both coming off their Christmas breaks. San Jose’s last game was Sunday at home against Arizona and Anaheim’s last game was Dec. 22 in Buffalo.
“Just coming out of the break, it’s huge just to win a game,” Burns said. “It kind of gets you right back into the groove of things. Three days can be a lot for us. To come out with a win, you go right back into motion and it’s a lot easier trying to battle back.”
