SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- This year, the San Jose Sharks are different.

The proved it again Friday night when they scored a 4-1 come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Thrashers.

"I don't know if we would have come back like this last year," said San Jose's Jeff Friesen, who started the Sharks' comeback with a second-period tying goal after the Thrashers had controlled the first half of the game. "We came out flat, but we picked it up. In the past, we might well not have done that."

Since the franchise's inception in 1991, San Jose has never won as many games in a season as it has lost. This season, however, the Sharks lead the Pacific Division and are tied with Detroit for the most points in the NHL.

San Jose's Mike Ricci, who scored 3 1/2 minutes after Friesen did to put the Sharks ahead, added, "We didn't play hard at the beginning, but (goalie Steve) Shields gave us a chance. We turned it on and played well at the end."

San Jose didn't get even until 10:34 had elapsed in the second period when Friesen scored his 13th goal of the season on a backhanded shot from 15 feet out. He picked up a loose puck after Vincent Damphousse's shot had been stopped by Atlanta goaltender Scott Langkow.

"That was a huge play, the kind you look for," San Jose assistant coach Bob Berry said. "That was what got us going."

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 14:04 of the second period when Ricci scored on a power play from close range after taking a nice backhand pass from Alexander Korolyuk. The goal, Ricci's seventh of the season, gave him 399 points for his career.

Patrick Marleau's goal off Korolyuk's assist at 7:26 of the third period gave San Jose a 3-1 lead and firm command. Marleau scored from six feet out after Korolyuk had cleared the puck away from the boards on the right side of the ice. The goal was Marleau's eighth of the season.

"This is how it's been for us most of the season," Atlanta coach Curt Fraser said. "We're playing darn good -- at the top of our game -- and then we step into a pothole and can't recover. We played a really solid road game, and (goalie) Scotty (Langkow) did a terrific job of goaltending. But we just have to find a way to win."

The Sharks' Tony Granato scored a late power-play goal from very close range with 50 seconds remaining.

Atlanta had scored first when Andrew Brunette scored his 13th goal of the season on a backhanded tap-in from pointblank range at 6:50 of the first period.

"It was a really good game," Langkow said. "It was a lot closer than you might think after looking at the 4-1 final score. It wasn't a one-sided game at all."

San Jose right winger Owen Nolan had his six-game goal scoring streak stopped but remained in a tie with Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr for the NHL lead in points with 43.

Shields stopped 32 of 33 shots, while Langkow stopped 33 of 37.