SAN JOSE, Calif. - With a gold medal, a Hart Trophy and a load of other accolades, Joe Thornton has never been the other Joe on the San Jose Sharks until this year's playoffs.
Everyone on San Jose is taking a back seat to Joe Pavelski this postseason.
After Pavelski tied the it early in the third period with his second goal, Thornton ended his playoff drought by knocking in a rebound with 7:23 left that gave the San Jose Sharks a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the second-round series.
"Whatever planet he's on, I think everyone wants to get on it with him," Thornton said about Pavelski. "He's just been so consistent - he's been awesome. He really has been."
Thornton's one goal this postseason hasn't come close to matching Pavelski's production with an NHL-leading nine. But it helped make sure San Jose would head to Detroit with home-ice advantage intact going into Game 3 on Tuesday night.
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Pavelski scored a pair of power-play goals to extend his goal-scoring streak to five games and set up Ryane Clowe's between-the-legs score to continue a breakthrough postseason for the player no longer known as "Little Joe."
"It's good to see pucks go in the net," Pavelski said. "It's good to work hard and get rewarded. It always feels good to chip in. There's a lot more to go though."
• Canadiens 3, Penguins 1: In Pittsburgh, Mike Cammalleri scored two goals, Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves in a performance much like his series-stealing play during Montreal's first-round upset of Washington and the Canadiens surprised Pittsburgh.
Brian Gionta also scored as Montreal, playing without injured defenseman Andrei Markov, bounced back from a 6-3 loss in Game 1 and an early 1-0 Pittsburgh lead to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game each.
Game 3 is Tuesday in Montreal, with Game 4 on Thursday. The first playoff series between the two since 1998 returns to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Saturday.
Halak, pulled after allowing five goals on 20 shots in Game 1, made big save after big save as the Canadiens won despite being outshot 39-21. Sidney Crosby didn't score for the second successive game, and neither did Evgeni Malkin.
