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SAN JOSE — Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl scored their first goals of the season Sunday night, and they both had Logan Couture to thank for the assists.
Couture set up Meier for his goal at the 3:04 mark of the first period then found Hertl for a shorthanded marker late in the second period as the Sharks won for the first time at home this season, beating the Calgary Flames 3-1 at SAP Center.
Kevin Labanc added another goal off the rush and Martin Jones made 32 saves as the Sharks improved to 2-0 with Patrick Marleau in the lineup after they started the season with four straight losses.
The Sharks (2-4-0) continue their homestand Wednesday against the so-far undefeated Carolina Hurricanes.
With the Sharks killing a penalty to Brent Burns and leading 2-1, Couture intercepted a Matthew Tkachuk pass just inside the San Jose blue line. Couture then picked up the loose puck, raced into the Flames zone and found a trailing Hertl, who one-timed the pass past Flames goalie Cam Talbot for a two-goal lead.
That was enough offense for Jones, who made 21 saves through two periods to help pick up his first win of the season. Jones entered Sunday with an 0-3-0 record and a .854 save percentage.
The game was Marleau’s first as a Shark at home since April 2017. He signed a one-year contract with the team on Wednesday and played his first game back with the Sharks, the spent 19 seasons with from 1997-2017, the following night when he scored twice in San Jose’s 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Marleau received a loud ovation when he was introduced as one of the Sharks’ starters shortly before the game began.
Marleau was given an even louder ovation during the first the first television timeout in the first period. After a video tribute, Marleau stood up to acknowledge the fans in attendance, with most of the patrons inside SAP Center rising to their feet to chant, “Patty, Patty.”
As he sat down on the bench, a clearly emotional Marleau wiped a small tear from his eye — reiterating, in a non-verbal way, just how much it has meant to him to be back in San Jose.
First period goals by Meier and Labanc, plus 11 saves by Jones, gave the Sharks the lead after 20 minutes for the first time this season.
Meier opened the scoring at the 3:04 mark of the first period, as he drove the net, established position and redirected a pass from Couture past Talbot for his first goal of the season.
Labanc then finished a pretty passing sequence with a wrist shot that beat Talbot at the 10:13 mark.
Erik Karlsson started the breakout with a pass to Labanc, who sped through the neutral zone and found Hertl near the Flames blue line. A nifty pass back set up Labanc, who came in alone and beat Talbot high to the glove side.
