Timo Meier scored twice as the San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting Dallas Stars 3-2 Thursday night.

It was the second consecutive two-goal game for Meier, who raised his season total to 18 goals. Meier has nine points in five games since returning from a three-game absence caused by an undisclosed injury.

Joe Thornton also scored for San Jose, and Martin Jones made 20 saves as the Sharks earned their third win in a row and their fifth in six games.

Radek Faksa and Miro Heiskanen scored for Dallas, which lost its third straight after winning four in a row. Anton Khudobin stopped 21 shots.

Meier broke a 1-1 tie at 2:50 of the third period on a three-on-one break after defenseman Erik Karlsson broke up a play at the Sharks' blue line. Meier skated through center ice and over the Dallas blue line before sending a pass to Logan Couture. The San Jose center passed the puck right back to Meier, who chipped a rolling puck over Khudobin from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.

Thornton scored what proved to be the winner at 7:56 of the third, making it 3-1. Radim Simek's shot from the top of the left faceoff circle bounced off a defenseman's skate and straight to Thornton at the right faceoff dot. Thornton slapped the puck into a nearly empty net as Khudobin had sprawled to his right to block the original shot.

The Stars made it 3-2 on Heiskanen's goal at 12:24 from the top of the faceoff circles. Heiskanen has three goals and five points in his past five games.

Dallas opened the scoring at 3:35 of the second period as Faksa batted a rebound past Jones after a San Jose turnover deep in its own end.

The Sharks tied it at 16:20 of the middle period off a faceoff win by Couture in the Stars' end of the ice. Brett Burns tipped the puck to Meier, who had circled behind the right faceoff dot, and his shot through a screen beat Khudobin.

--Field Level Media