Mike Hoffman scores 2 goals as San Jose Sharks beat St. Louis Blues 5-1

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Mike Hoffman scored two goals, and the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 5-1 on Thursday night.

Givani Smith had a goal and an assist for San Jose, which had dropped three in a row. William Eklund and Luke Kunin also scored in the Sharks' highest scoring game of the season.

San Jose is 3-3 in its last six games after dropping its first 11 games of the season.

Pavel Buchnevich scored for St. Louis, which had won three in a row. Joel Hofer stopped 17 of 21 shots before he was replaced by Jordan Binnington in the second period.

The Blues had won their last eight games against the Sharks.

San Jose jumped in front on Hoffman's second goal of the season 2:02 into the first. The Sharks grabbed control in the second.

Eklund, Smith and Kunin scored in the first 3:25 of the period, chasing Hofer and lifting San Jose to a 4-0 lead.

Kaapo Kahkonen was working on a shutout for the Sharks before Buchnevich scored 13:55 into the third. Kahkonen finished with 44 saves.

Six players had multipoint games for the Sharks for the first time since 2019.

Hoffman’s second goal came on a breakaway off a pass by Filip Zadina, extending the lead to 5-0 at 13:45 of the second period.

The Sharks also got a lift from the return of Anthony Duclair, who missed the last three games with strep throat.

UP NEXT

Blues: At Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Sharks: At Vancouver on Monday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl