SAN JOSE, Calif. — A third-period comeback, a broken stick that leads to the winning goal. This seemed to be just the type of playoff game the San Jose Sharks would lose in the past, only this year's bunch got the good fortune.

Joe Thornton scored his first goal of the postseason after an odd-man rush set up when Nicklas Lidstrom broke his stick and the Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the second-round series.

"You need breaks," Thornton said. "But I think you make your breaks."

That didn't seem to happen in playoffs past as the Sharks have failed to make it out of the second round over the past five years.

The biggest reason for the change is the play of Joe Pavelski, who scored two more goals to increase his playoff-leading total to nine.