Steve Mason made 38 saves to get the win and surpass Marc Denis as the Blue Jackets' career wins leader.
Logan Couture scored twice and Joe Thornton also had a goal for San Jose, while starting goalie Antti Niemi was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots. The Sharks fell to 1-4-1 on their nine-game road trip.
Carter, injured for a good part of the season, scored his 15th goal and the third of the game for his second hat trick of the season at 1:26 of the third period, giving Columbus a 6-2 lead.
In other games *
At Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots to tie Tom Barrasso's franchise record for career shutouts (22) and carried the Penguins past the New York Rangers, 2-0. Evgeni Malkin scored his 33rd goal of the season and added an assist on Steve Sullivan's tally. Henrik Lundqvist made 29 stops for the Rangers, but New York lost for the second time in three games.
* At Toronto, Mark Fayne scored 1:18 into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-3 victory over the Maple Leafs. Petr Sykora had a goal and an assist for New Jersey and David Clarkson and former Maple Leaf Alexei Ponikarovsky also scored. Phil Kessel's 31st goal of the season forced overtime for Toronto with 44 seconds left in the third period. The Devils have won four games in a row.
* At Tampa, Steven Stamkos scored his league-leading 41st and 42nd goals and added an assist as the Lightning beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2. Stamkos has five goals and eight points during a three-game point streak. The Lightning has won three in a row and are 10-3-2 in their last 15 games.
* At Chicago, Corey Crawford made 31 saves to lead the Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Hayes scored the tying goal in the second period and set up Marcus Kruger's winning score in the third as Chicago earned its fourth consecutive victory following a nine-game losing streak.
