The San Jose Sharks dominated the St. Louis Blues with a 5-1 win.

The San Jose Sharks dominated the St. Louis Blues with a 5-1 win on Thursday night.

Mike Hoffman scored twice for San Jose. Givani Smith, Luke Kunin, and William Eklund also scored. Hoffman, Smith, Kunin, Ryan Carpenter, Nikita Okhotiuk, and Filip Zadina all had two points. Kaapo Kahkonen made 45 saves for his first win of the season.

Pavel Buchnevich scored his fifth goal of the season. Joel Hofer started for St. Louis but was pulled after giving up the fourth goal. He made 17 saves. Jordan Binnington made 13 saves in relief.

This, by far, was the best the Sharks have played all season. Their forecheck was relentless and created turnovers all night long. The lines seemed balanced, and all had good chemistry. 

San Jose had worked on team defense this week in practice. They executed exactly what head coach David Quinn wanted all night. 

FIRST PERIOD: 

2:02: Terrific passing sets up Hoffman to give the Sharks the early lead. 1-0 Sharks.

By far and away, it's the Sharks' best period of the season. They got slightly hemmed defensively, but Kahkonen was up to the task. The forecheck was present and effective for arguably the first time this season.

SECOND PERIOD:

0:17: Eklund deflects a shot from the point to give the Sharks a two-goal lead. 2-0 Sharks.

2:39: Smith gets his first as a member of the Sharks. 3-0 Sharks.

3:25: Kunin one-times a shot past Hofer for tacos! 4-0 Sharks.

13:45: Hoffman sneaks behind the defense for his second of the game. 5-0 Sharks.

We have a new best period of the Sharks season. This was pure domination on every level during the second frame. 

THIRD PERIOD: 

13:56: Buchnevich scores to break the shutout. 5-1 Sharks.