WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Jets are the most penalized team in the NHL this season, and the San Jose Sharks couldn't be happier about their Tuesday opponent's lack of discipline.

Playing their second game in 24 hours, the Sharks put a sleeper hold on the home team for most of the night and emerged with a 4-1 victory.

The Jets took 35 minutes in penalties against a team that flew into town early Tuesday morning and was supposed to be tired after beating the Flames in Calgary 5-4 on Monday night.

While the Sharks' power-play didn't remind anybody of the mid-1980s Edmonton Oilers, it generated some good chances, and center Joe Pavelski salted the game away on a two-man advantage. He scored on a one-timer to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead with 4:01 left in the game.

San Jose right winger Joel Ward added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left to send whatever fans remained in the MTS Centre scurrying for the exits.

The Sharks (21-18-2) took just three minor penalties.

No infraction epitomized the game and perhaps the entire Jets' season more than defenseman Tyler Myers' cross-check on Sharks center Tommy Wingels at 12:55 of the third period and his team trailing 2-1. The hulking rearguard was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for his nasty two-hander to Wingels' head deep in the Jets zone.

Myers said he lost his temper during a contest in which the Sharks suffocated virtually every offensive foray by the Jets (19-21-3).

"It's a penalty. I'm not going to deny that," Myers said. "I might argue about the five (minutes), but either way it's a penalty I shouldn't have taken. It wasn't a good time. We're trying to tie the game up. I've just got to control myself there."

Wingels was perplexed why Myers would lose his cool when he was just forechecking and finishing his check, something that happens countless times every game.

"I don't know why he took such exception to it. He cross-checked me and it was the right call," Wingels said.

The only real drama of the night came while Myers was taking off his gear in the dressing room in the third period. Jets right winger Blake Wheeler sped into the Sharks' zone after a dump in on the penalty kill, knocked the puck away from San Jose goalie Alex Stalock and tucked it into the net on the wraparound.

The only problem was the referee deemed he had tripped the wandering netminder, the goal was called off, and Wheeler found himself in the penalty box, putting his team down for the decisive five-on-three.

Wheeler begged to differ on the call.

"I got penalized for the goalie making a horse-(bleep) play," Wheeler said. "He puts himself in a bad spot. I can be man enough and admit if I slew-footed him. Take a look at my left foot. It's turning right the whole way and never moves in his direction at any point. It's hard to have that one go against you."

The view in the visitors' dressing room was decidedly different.

Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said he had no doubt that Wheeler's goal wouldn't count.

"You can boo all you want, but when you watch it, it's the right call," DeBoer said.

Stalock, who played a couple of AHL games last week to prepare for this start, said it was hard for him to say what happened because he had his back to the streaking winger.

"Obviously, I don't think I go down if I don't get taken out in some way," he said. "I was going to get the puck behind the net, and whether he pushed our own guy into me or (took out) my feet, I don't know. It's a tough call for a ref to make. I'll take another look at it. I know they replayed it a bunch (on the scoreboard), but it's hard to watch during the game."

Jets coach Paul Maurice wasn't about to get pulled into any officiating controversy in a brief and terse press conference.

"I've got enough concerns, and refereeing can't be one of mine. so no comment on all the calls or any of the calls," he said. "It was a call, and we didn't kill the five-on-three.

"We weren't as good as we needed to be to beat that team. They were faster than we were, from the start all the way right through the game. We had some chances to tie the game. We're in a 2-1 game, so it's not out of reach at any point, but they were faster."

The Sharks opened the scoring short-handed at 15:18 of the first period when center Chris Tierney accepted a giveaway from Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien at center ice and skated in and beat goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with a wrist shot.

Before the power play was over, however, Jets right winger Drew Stafford broke in on a two-on-one with Nikolaj Ehlers and fed the rookie left winger, who beat Stalock with a backhand for his seventh of the season at 15:41.

Just as the period was winding down, Sharks center Joe Thornton banged home a rebound in Hellebuyck's crease to make it 2-1.

NOTES: Jets G Ondrej Pavelec, who has been out with a lower-body injury since November, was on skates -- but no pads -- at the MTS Centre over the weekend. No timetable has been set for his return. ... Jets C Mark Scheifele is expected to miss another two or three games after aggravating a lower-body injury last week. ... San Jose is on the second night of a back-to-back, having defeated the Flames 5-4 in Calgary on Monday. The Jets are 5-1-0 this season against a team playing on its second of consecutive nights. ... This is the second meeting between the Jets and Sharks this season. The Jets won 4-1 earlier this month in San Jose. ... In the press box for the Sharks are C Dainius Zubrus, RW Ben Smith and D Matt Tennyson. ... The lone healthy scratch for the Jets is D Adam Pardy. ... NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in the press box, watching the game with Jets owner Mark Chipman.