Sharks regroup against Kings, 6-3

Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau each had a goal and two assists, and the San Jose Sharks rebounded from an embarrassing loss with a 6-3 victory over the Kings on Wednesday night.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Pavelski scored their first NHL goals for the Sharks, blown out 5-0 by the Ducks one night earlier.

The Sharks played without injured forwards Jonathan Cheechoo (leg) and Milan Michalek (arm) but had plenty of firepower in their seventh victory in nine games. Vesa Toskala gave up two soft goals and made 24 saves, but with the Sharks’ prolific offense, it didn’t matter.

Marleau scored his 200th career goal and Pavelski scored in his NHL debut for San Jose, which scored four goals in the first nine minutes of the second period to rout the Kings in the Pacific Division rivals’ third meeting in 14 days.

Steve Bernier and Marcel Goc had second-period goals, and league most valuable player Thornton had his fifth three-point game of the season.

Marleau scored his team-leading 13th goal 58 seconds later, and Goc chased Kings goalie Dan Cloutier by deflecting Scott Hannan’s long shot into the net midway through the period, putting the Sharks up 5-1.

Scott Thornton, Dustin Brown and Lubomir Visnovsky scored for the Kings, who came back rusty after a four-day layoff. Cloutier made only seven saves in 12 shots before getting yanked.

Scott Thornton, who spent his last five seasons with the Sharks before leaving for Los Angeles as a free agent, got the opening goal eight minutes in when Toskala allowed a big rebound.

But Vlasic, the precocious 19-year-old defenseman who earned a roster spot out of training camp, finally got his first goal in his 23rd NHL game when Joe Thornton collected a loose puck behind the Kings net and set up an easy shot moments later.