Joe Pavelski recorded a hat trick in a four-point night to power the San Jose Sharks to an easy 5-3 victory over the visiting St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

Antti Niemi turned aside 42 shots in his 28th consecutive start as San Jose opened a three-point lead atop the Pacific Division and closed within two points of Detroit for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Torrey Mitchell and Devin Setoguchi also scored for San Jose (42-23-8), which chased Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak with three goals in the opening 7 minutes, 41 seconds.

Pavelski scored two power-play goals in the opening period, the first coming 42 seconds after he assisted on Mitchell's tally. He completed the hat trick with six seconds left in the second period to make it 5-1, giving him four goals and eight assists in his last four games.

T.J. Hensick, David Backes and Andy McDonald scored for St. Louis (32-31-9), which dropped 11 points behind Nashville and Chicago for the final playoff spot in the West.

The Sharks played without coach Todd McLellan, who was attending his brother-in-law’s funeral in Saskatchewan. San Jose also saw standout rookie Logan Couture exit the game with an apparent leg injury in the second period. He did not return.