The Sharks controlled play right from the drop of the puck, with Logan Couture scoring his ninth goal of the season with an assist from Brent Burns scoring on backup goalie Scott Clemmensen just 1:16 into the game.
San Jose controlled play for most of the first five minutes when Dan Boyle tripped Mike Santorelli seven minutes into the game resulting in a Florida power play. It didn’t take the first line long to get onto the board with a man advantage, with Stephen Weiss tallying his ninth goal of the season with assists from Tomas Fleischmann and Kris Versteeg.
Four minutes later the Sharks regained the lead when Michal Handzus fed Jamie McGinn from behind the goal for his fourth goal of the season. Colin White got the other assist for San Jose.
San Jose outhit Florida in the first period nine to eight while the Panthers hold a 12-8 shot advantage.