SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sick one night, Sharks' savior the next.

An ill Logan Couture was left home when San Jose beat the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, but Thursday the alternate captain scored a tie-breaking goal early in the third period to lead the Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"He's one of those players who if he is having an off-day there's always that chance he can break open," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said of Couture. "It's a huge goal for us, and it's good to see someone step up there."

Couture scored his 15th goal of the season 22 seconds into the final period and propel San Jose, which found its legs after a slow start, to a third straight win in front of a sellout crowd at SAP Center.

Couture's sweeping shot from the bottom of the right circle slipped under the pads of Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy after Sharks teammate Kevin Labanc won a battle on the end boards and punched a short pass to Couture.

Couture said he lost six pounds during his two-day ordeal, that included an overnight trip to the hospital where he didn't get much sleep and was hooked up to IVs on two occasions after having one after leaving Monday's victory over Winnipeg early.

"For 48 hours, it was a tough little stretch," Couture said. "Finally yesterday I was able to get back to normal a little bit."

It was more of the same on the road for the Lightning, who dropped to 2-9-3 away from home since mid-November. And Thursday's result extended a streak of scoring two or fewer goals on the road to nine straight outings.

"We could have six points and we wouldn't even blink an eye," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of his team's 1-1-1 start to a six-game trip. "We've got three. It's killing us."

San Jose back-up goalie Aaron Dell was again the beneficiary of a solid defensive effort. Dell was strong when he needed to be, stopping 24 of 25 Lightning shots, to record his fifth win in seven decisions this season.

"He was probably the reason we won it," Sharks forward Ryan Carpenter said. "He made some big saves tonight. It's just what he does. Whenever he plays he does well somehow."

Dell was fortunate, too, as Tampa Bay forward Alex Killorn missed the net with a one-time shot from the slot in the final 20 seconds as Tampa Bay skated with the goalie pulled for an extra-attacker.

"It was a grade-A chance," Killorn said. "And I missed it."

Carpenter broke a scoreless tie 5:01 into the second period by scoring his second goal in his fifth game this season.

San Jose defenseman Paul Martin fed the rookie center with a short pass along the boards, and Carpenter let go with a one-timer from the top of the right circle that deflected off the right leg of Tampa Bay defenseman Nikita Nesterov and past goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on the hosts' 12th shot of the game.

"(Joel) Ward did a good job in front of the net creating traffic," Carpenter said. "Even the shift before that they got a lot of zone time and I sort of just jumped out there. I kind of benefitted from that."

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Lightning managed to convert on their first power play of the game after San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon tripped Tampa Bay's Brian Boyle at 5:37.

Slick-skating forward Jonathan Drouin wound up at center, blew right around the usually unflappable Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and went backhand-to-forehand to tuck his 14th goal of the season around Dell 1:13 into the man-advantage.

The Lightning had a chance to break on top after San Jose defenseman Justin Braun held Tyler Johnson at 13:39. But the Lightning could not solve Dell with either of their two shots on the resulting power play.

Dell came up big again in the final two minutes with a right-pad save on Tampa Bay center Vladislav Namestnikov, who had a point-blank screened shot from the slot.

"He's done it every game for us," Pavelski said. "We like playing in front of him. You see him, he's aggressive, he's into the game and he's attacking pucks. That's everything you want from your goalie."

NOTES: Tampa Bay D Victor Hedman (illness) missed his third straight game. He remains a "game-by-game" decision, coach John Cooper said. ... San Jose LW Joonas Donskoi was activated off injured reserve and rejoined the lineup for the first time since Jan. 11. C Micheal Haley (upper-body injury) went on IR and rookie LW Timo Meier did not play because of an undisclosed injury. ... San Jose LW Mikkel Boedker did not appear in the third period, a coach's decision according to San Jose bench boss Peter DeBoer. ... Tampa Bay was also without C Steven Stamkos (knee), C Brayden Point (upper body), RW J.T. Brown (upper body), and RW Ryan Callahan (lower body). ... The Lightning continue their six-game trip Saturday at the Arizona Coyotes. ... The Sharks host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. ... RW Barclay Goodrow and D Tim Heed were healthy scratches for San Jose while D Jake Dotchin did not dress for Tampa Bay along with RW Erik Condra and Hedman.