SAN JOSE, Calif. -- With the trade deadline passed, a roster bolstered by recent veteran additions and a recent busy schedule in the rearview mirror, it is full speed ahead for the San Jose Sharks.

Center Joe Pavelski scored his 28th and 29th goals of the season while defenseman Brent Burns and center Joe Thornton contributed three points each as the Sharks beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 at SAP Center on Monday.

With its second win in as many nights, third-place San Jose moved within two points of the second-place Anaheim Ducks and within four of the first-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. Both Southern California teams were idle.

"I love our group," Thornton said. "We have a great group, and it's exciting going forward here. We've got a real deep team that's fun to watch."

San Jose's dominant win snapped Montreal's four-game points streak as the desperate Canadiens ventured out for the first game of a four-stop West Coast trek.

"I think our defensive squad really had a tough time tonight," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "We got dominated by a good hockey team."

San Jose led 3-2 through 40 minutes before breaking the game open with two strikes early in the third period. It was the manner in which the Sharks kept coming at Montreal with wave after wave of chances that kept the Canadiens backed up during the final 20 minutes.

"You saw it tonight -- four lines go, six (defensemen) go -- it's line after line," Thornton said. "You don't need to match when you have four lines like this. You just keep the pressure on. You get your energy back when three shifts go by."

Montreal right winger Brendan Gallagher said, "I don't think we can be happy enough with our effort. We allowed them to have too much time and space, and good players are going to take advantage of it. There's things we can control every game, and our compete level and battle level wasn't where it needed to be."

Sharks left winger Melker Karlsson scored his eighth goal by punching a pass out of the air from the slot past Montreal goalie Mike Condon at 2:14 of the third period. The goal capped a hard-working shift in the offensive zone by San Jose's fourth line. It marked Karlsson's first goal in seven games, his second in 14.

Just over one minute later, recently acquired center Nick Spaling scored his second goal in four games as a Shark by following up on a rebound left from center Logan Couture's shot.

"It's been a pretty easy transition for me," Spaling said. "They've done a good job to make sure I'm comfortable. I couldn't ask for too much more."

Pavelski capped the scoring with a blast in close at 14:50. It was an impressive finish considering San Jose played the night before in Vancouver while the Canadiens were idle.

"To be honest, that 4 o'clock start (Sunday) was nice, we got home at a decent hour so it didn't feel like a back-to-back," Thornton said.

The teams traded goals in the middle session as the Sharks took a 3-2 lead into the final period.

Burns worked a give-and-go with Thornton through the neutral zone before the Sharks' All-Star defenseman potted his 21st goal at 3:11 with a rifled wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle.

The Canadiens narrowed the lead to a single goal again a little more than nine minutes later when an ex-Shark struck. Right winger Torrey Mitchell batted the partially fanned shot of teammate Paul Byron out of the air, and he literally bounced his seven goal of the season past San Jose goalie Martin Jones at 12:32.

Jones came up big inside the final 30 seconds of the period with a right-pad save on Gallagher's potential game-tying shot from the bottom of the right circle. Jones got help from the crossbar in the opening minute of the second period, too, when defenseman Mark Barberio's drive on the power play struck iron.

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after controlling play during the opening 20 minutes and outshooting the Canadiens 13-7 in the process.

San Jose broke on top with a pretty goal as Thornton stuffed home a redirected pass at 3:11 from Pavelski after defenseman Justin Braun executed a perfect shot-pass from the right point.

Montreal struck back at 5:26, however, when Gallagher fired a low shot along the goal line from the right boards that somehow slipped through Jones.

The hosts broke the tie at 15:55 when Thornton threaded a cross-ice feed to Pavelski, who one-timed his 28th goal of the season past Condon. Burns picked up the 400th point of his NHL career with a second assist.

Jones finished with 21 saves, while Condon stopped 30 shots.

NOTES: RW Mike Brown was claimed by Montreal off waivers, switched locker rooms and was in Monday's lineup for the Canadiens playing against his recent ex-teammates in San Jose. Brown paired with ex-Shark LW Torrey Mitchell and C Michael McCarron on Montreal's fourth line, taking the place of RW Devante Smith-Pelly, who was dealt Monday to New Jersey in exchange for F Stefan Matteau. ... G Martin Jones made his ninth straight start for San Jose as new backup James Reimer was not yet in town following Saturday's trade with Toronto. Reimer was in the process of working through immigration issues, and he will likely join the team in time for Thursday's game in Vancouver. AHL call-up Aaron Dell dressed as Jones' backup for a second straight night. ... G Carey Price did not accompany the Canadiens on the road but skated wearing full equipment in Montreal. ... The Sharks assigned D Dylan DeMelo to San Jose of the AHL. ... LW Lucas Lessio and D Morgan Ellis were healthy scratches for Montreal, while D Matt Tennyson did not dress for San Jose.