Sharks 6, Wild 1: Logan Couture scored a pair of goals and set up two others as host San Jose cruised past Minnesota.

Martin Havlat recorded two goals and an assist while Raffi Torres and Joe Pavelski both added one of each for the Sharks, who remained even in points with fourth-place Los Angeles in the Western Conference. Antti Niemi made 27 saves in his 22nd consecutive start for San Jose, which is 2-0-0 on its four-game homestand.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the lone goal for Minnesota, which is one point behind sixth-place St. Louis. Niklas Backstrom allowed five goals on 27 shots before being replaced by Darcy Kuemper, who made one save.

Havlat opened the scoring at 7:42 of the first period by converting a pass from Couture, who beat Backstrom from the slot during a power play at 5:29 of the second to double the lead.

Couture knocked down Backstrom's clearing attempt in the right corner and dished the puck to Havlat, who fired it into the net from the slot before the goaltender was able to get back in the crease to make it 3-1 with 5:28 left in the period.

Torres scored on a wraparound at 3:59 of the third and Pavelski buried a loose puck in the low slot 22 seconds later to give the Sharks a 5-1 advantage and chase Backstrom. Couture completed his fourth two-goal performance of the season at 9:15, beating Kuemper with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Sharks captain Joe Thornton's assist on Couture's first goal was the 786th of his career, giving him sole possession of 33rd place on the all-time list. Thornton had been tied for the spot with Mats Sundin. ... The Wild went 2-1-0 on their three-game road trip. ... The home team has won five straight games in the all-time series and 10 of the last 11. ... San Jose is 11-2-1 in its last 14 contests. ... Minnesota has won just one of its last eight visits to San Jose.