Sharks goalie Martin Jones' 26 saves spark San Jose against St. Louis Blues 3-1

ST. LOUIS - San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones set the tone early Thursday night.

Jones stopped a quick wrist shot from St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko in the game’s opening minute. It was the first of 26 saves for Jones, but more importantly it allowed a sluggish Sharks team to stay even until Joonas Donskoi and Joe Thornton scored in the second period to send San Jose to a 3-1 victory.

“We were a little bit off early in the game. I figured we probably would be a little bit just because of our travel,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said, referring to the team’s flight to St. Louis from Anaheim. “(Jones) was our best player early and then I thought as the game went on we got better.”

Matt Nieto added an unassisted goal late in the third to give San Jose insurance. The Sharks, who are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games, improved to 17-7-2 away from home and tied Washington for the most road wins in the NHL.

“It’s tough to win, let alone on the road, so it’s a good sign,” Jones said. “I think the last month we’ve been playing very well, even at home, so it’s good to see things coming together here.”

Jay Bouwmeester scored his second goal of the season late in the second period for the Blues.

Donskoi and Thornton’s goals for San Jose came during a 4-minute span in the second.

Donskoi banked a shot off the near post to break the scoreless tie at 3:55. He has 10 points, including four goals, in his last 12 games.

“I try to play with the puck. I try to be strong,” Donskoi said. “I stayed on the puck in the offensive zone all night, so I think that’s my game.”

Donskoi’s goal snapped a shutout streak of 96 minutes, 59 seconds for Blues goalie Brian Elliott.

Thornton’s goal at 7:15 gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead. It was Thornton’s first goal in nine games and his 49th career point against the Blues.

The teams combined for 29 shots during a scoreless first period.

The Blues’ best chance came when Kevin Shattenkirk rang a slap shot off the post during an early power play.

San Jose had several quality chances late in the period, but Elliott turned away all five shots during the flurry.

“We wanted to get traffic in front of him for sure and we knew that we were going to have to get some greasy goals and we ended up getting some nice backdoor goals, too,” Nieto said. “You know he’s a great goaltender and we just tried to get him out of his comfort zone.”