Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist in his first game back from the injured list, and Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves, as the San Jose Sharks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins for the seventh straight time at home, 5-0 Saturday night.
"[Pavelski] really didn't miss a step. It looked like he missed no time at all," said teammate Dany Heatley. "He should have had two goals, I stole the other one from him. He played real well tonight and we're happy to have him back."
Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby was held pointless for a fourth straight game. He hit the post with a shot early in the second period but was unable to convert against Nabokov and the Sharks.
Dan Boyle, Heatley, Jamie McGinn and Manny Malhotra also scored for San Jose, which has eight wins and a tie at home against Pittsburgh since last losing to the Penguins at the Shark Tank 5-2 on Oct. 22, 1997, when Crosby was only 10 years old.
The Sharks played back-to-back games against the Stanley Cup finalists, losing a shootout in Detroit to the runner-up Red Wings on Thursday before dominating champion Pittsburgh.
San Jose led 4-0 less than four minutes into the second period, out-shooting Pittsburgh 17-3 at one point.
The Penguins had tied a team record with seven straight road wins before losing 5-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
They followed that up with the loss in San Jose, marking the first time in 42 regular-season games under coach Dan Bylsma that Pittsburgh has gone consecutive games without a point.
"We just weren't ready to play the type of game that they came ready to play," Bylsma said.
Strong save
Nabokov made a strong save on a one-timer by Bill Guerin on the power play midway through the first period, and turned away 12 shots in the second on the way to his 49th career shutout.
San Jose chased goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 1:41 into the second period when Boyle wove through the Penguins defence on a long rush up-ice before beating Fleury with a wristshot that made it 3-0. Fleury made 11 saves.
Brent Johnson didn't fare much better, allowing a quick goal to Heatley. Joe Thornton made a perfect feed to Pavelski, who was coming out of the penalty box. Johnson stopped Pavelski's shot but Heatley tipped the rebound in for the 4-0 lead and the rout was on.
"There's a smile on everyone's face when [Pavelski] is back in the lineup," Sharks coach Todd McLellen said. "He means so much to our team, a very intelligent player. He brings a calmness to the ice."
Sharks enforcer Jody Shelley got into a pair of fights in the third period, getting the best of Jay McKee and Eric Godard. The first led to a power-play goal by Malhotra.
The Sharks dominated play in the opening period, outshooting the Penguins 13-3 and scoring the only two goals.
McGinn got it started when Jed Ortmeyer forced a turnover at the blue-line and sprung him up-ice with a blind pass. McGinn's second-effort shot from a bad angle got past Fleury and gave San Jose a 1-0 lead.
The Sharks came though on the power play for just the second time in six home games this season.
Boyle fired a pass from the point that Pavelski redirected past a helpless Fleury. Pavelski had missed the previous five weeks after breaking his foot while blocking a shot against Anaheim on Oct. 3.
