SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Joe Pavelski had two goals and an assist Saturday and the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 on a night they might have lost one of their top scorers to an injury.

San Jose jumped out to a 3-0 lead less than 8 minutes in and thoroughly dominated the Blues. But there was more of a cause for concern than celebration when rookie Logan Couture had to be helped to the locker room early in the second period with an apparent right leg injury.

Couture is listed as day to day. He was unable to put any weight on his leg as teammates Ryane Clowe and Ben Eager helped him off the ice after his skate slammed into the end boards 1:04 into the second.

Torry Mitchell, Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi also scored and Antti Niemi made 42 saves for the Sharks, who have won three straight following a three-game losing streak to move within two points of Detroit for second place in the Western Conference.

T.J. Hensick scored his first goal in more than 16 months and David Backes and Andy McDonald added third-period scores for the Blues, who had won four of six.

Much of the energy left the Shark Tank after Couture's injury. He has been one of San Jose's most consistent performers all season with a franchise rookie record 27 goals, including eight game-winners.

Pavelski almost had his first career hat trick but a third goal was taken away after the game when officials ruled he didn't deflect Marleau's first-period shot.

San Jose got off to a fast start against a team looking to play spoiler in the Western Conference. The Sharks scored three goals in a span of less than 4 minutes in the opening period to knock out Jaroslav Halak two nights after he shut out another playoff contender in a 4-0 win at Los Angeles.