Sharks coach Todd McLellan waited until Friday night to put his top three scorers on the same line at the start of a game, and even then he said it might be short term.

"We'll see what they get done," he said before the contest against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Well, here's what they got done in a decisive 6-3 victory over one of the Eastern Conference's top teams:

A second hat trick of the season from Dany Heatley that gives him an NHL-leading 17 goals for the season, four assists from Joe Thornton including the 600th of his career, and a well-timed goal from Patrick Marleau when the game was still in doubt.

Manny Malhotra and Ryane Clowe also scored for the Sharks, who ended up sweeping their two-game series against the Flyers this season by a combined score of 10-4. Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov picked up his 13th victory, making 26 saves and giving up two goals to Claude Giroux and one to Daniel Briere.

All of Heatley's goals came from close range but in a variety of circumstances — one at even strength, one short-handed and one on the power play. And those first two came after identical plays where he fed the puck to Thornton for a clear shot, but Thornton waited and waited before threading the puck back to Heatley for easy tap-ins.

"The first one, I thought, 'If I shoot here I might score.' Then I saw Dany," Thornton said. "He's the goal scorer, so I'd rather give him the opportunity. The second one I knew I

Heatley said the puck seemed to follow him around all night, then credited Thornton for making that happen.

"Sometimes you play with guys and you don't think the lane is there," Heatley said. "With Joe, you know he's going to find the lane, so you've just got to keep going."

The teams traded first-period goals — Briere scoring at 9:16 when he banked in a shot off Nabokov's backside, Malhotra getting his fourth of the season on a power play when his shot from the blue line ricocheted off at least two Philadelphia defenders and eluded Philadelphia goalie Ray Emery.

Heatley's first goal came in the opening minute of the second period when Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger lost an edge and Heatley jumped on the loose puck. Seconds later he had that first tap-in.

The Flyers got that one back at 11:24 when right wing Giroux fired a one-timer that Nabokov blocked but couldn't control, and Malhotra inadvertently knocked the puck into his own net to tie it at 2-2.

Heatley's hat trick goal on a power play at 12:54 and Clowe's third of the season at 15:22 pushed the game out of reach.

McLellan liked what he saw from his top line. But he admitted he initially would have preferred to see Thornton shoot the puck himself rather than pass it back to Heatley.

"I joked with him on the bench a little bit," McLellan said. "But he got away with it that time. Joe's a very dynamic passer. It's obviously what he does best, and Heater is starting to read that a little more. Patty as well. They're going to good spots."

Notes: McLellan said Devin Setoguchi is still day-to-day with a lower body injury, but Brad Staubitz would miss at least a couple weeks after being hit in the face by a puck during a Monday practice. ... The Sharks and Flyers were playing the front end of back-to-back games, and the rare 7 p.m. start enabled both teams to use San Jose airport without violating the 11:30 p.m. curfew. The Sharks headed to Anaheim for tonight's game against the Ducks, while the Flyers were going to Phoenix to play the Coyotes.