by By DAVID POLLAK MediaNews , Monterey County Herald

Because Saturday night, the Sharks made it an even dozen years since Pittsburgh could claim a victory at HP Pavilion as San Jose marked the return of center Joe Pavelski to the lineup with a 5-0 defeat of the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"He'll be nice boost for our Hockey club," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of Pavelski's return after missing 15 games with a broken foot. "We'll see if he can make a difference."

Pavelski's presence certainly helped. He scored one goal, assisted on another and provided a screen on a third as the Sharks took control of the game early and didn't let up with goalie Evgeni Nabokov making 27 saves to earn his second shutout of the season.

In addition to Pavelski's tally, the Sharks got goals from Jamie McGinn, Dan Boyle, Dany Heatley and Manny Malhotra.

The defeat was only the Penguins second road loss of the season and got the Sharks back in the win column after their shootout loss in Detroit on Thursday night.

The Sharks were rewarded with a 2-0 lead after controlling most of the action in the first period.

The first goal came with all three members of the Sharks third line contributing. Forward Jed Ortmeyer stole the puck from Penguins forward Chris Kunitz at the San Jose blue line then passed it to McGinn whose shot from the left faceoff circle went wide.

Scott Nichol retrieved the puck, however, and left it behind the net for McGinn who took it around the opposite side and was standing behind the goal line when he beat Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury who failed to cover the short side.

The Sharks got their second goal on the power play. Dan Boyle looked as if he were about to take a shot from the right point, but instead found Pavelski in the slot where he was able to redirect the puck past Fleury on the far side at 16:04.

San Jose outshot the Penguins 13-3 for the period, but goalie Evgeni Nabokov had to come up big twice.

With the Penguins on the power play, he quickly slid across the goal mouth to thwart Pittsburgh defenseman Kris LeTang who was parked just outside the crease for a one-timer. And late in the period Nabokov managed to glove a bouncing puck that Sidney Crosby put on net after breaking through the Sharks defense.

The second period was more of the same for the Sharks , who scored twice in the opening 3:31 and chased Fleury to the sidelines.

The Sharks third goal came at 1:41 when Boyle skated the puck through and around Pittsburgh defenders Martin Skoula and Ruslan Fedotenko, firing a 28-foot wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that beat Fleury on the far side. At that point, Penguins coach Dan Blysma put back-up goalie Brent Johnson in net.

Pavelski played a major role in the Sharks fourth goal, exiting the penalty box and heading to the slot to take a quick pass from Thornton. Johnson blocked Pavelski's shot, but the rebound trickled into the crease and Heatly pounced on it there to give San Jose a 4-0 lead.

The Sharks made it 5-0 at 9:51 of the third period, taking advantage of a four-minute power play when Pittsburgh defenseman Jay McKee was given a two-minute roughing penalty for a hit on Logan Couture, then decided to pick a fight with Jody Shelley on the way to the penalty box. Malhotra scored on a 49-foot slap shot with Pavelski among the players screening Johnson.

Shelley and Pittsburgh enforcer Eric Godard also exchanged punches later in the period.

Sharks 5, Penguins 0 ?Tuesday: vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m. ?TV/Radio: CSNCA/KFOX (98.5)

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