Sharks add to streak
The surging San Jose Sharks have sustained enough momentum to survive a late lapse.
Patrick Marleau saved the game in overtime and scored the winner in the shootout for the Sharks, who won their franchise-record ninth straight game, 3-2 over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday in St. Paul, Minn.
Marleau knocked Marian Gaborik’s last-minute shot out of the air and out of danger to preserve the tie and set up the shootout. Joe Pavelski scored first for the Sharks and Marleau wrapped it up for the visitors after a nifty 360-degree spin move by Pierre-Marc Bouchard kept the Wild alive.
San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov was as good as ever, playing in his league-leading 66th game and making 21 saves – plus two big blocks in the shootout of tries by Mikko Koivu and Gaborik.
Tomas Plihal scored on a penalty shot, the first allowed at home by Minnesota since the franchise began in 2000, for the Sharks. Seven of their wins on this streak have come away from home and they lead the NHL with a 24-8-3 mark on the road and trail only Detroit in the Western Conference race.
The Wild are clinging to a one-point lead over Colorado and Calgary in the Northwest Division after Sunday’s game.
Penguins 4, Capitals 2: Sidney Crosby again got the better of Alex Ovechkin, this time on a fluke goal with 28 seconds to play as Pittsburgh beat host Washington to move within one point of first-place New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin finished with three assists, gaining ground on Ovechkin in the NHL scoring race. Ovechkin assisted on both Washington goals to give him 95 points, three ahead of Malkin.
The Penguins are 10-1 against the Capitals, who remain seven points behind first-place Carolina in the Southeast Division, when rivals Crosby and Ovechkin are both on the ice.
Rangers 1, Bruins 0 (SO): Nigel Dawes’ shootout goal settled a brilliant goaltending duel between New York teammate Henrik Lundqvist and Boston’s Alex Auld and lifted the Rangers to a win over the Bruins in New York.
The win pushed the Rangers ahead of Boston by one point for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have 13 games remaining.
Through regulation, Auld made 34 saves. He was matched by Lundqvist, who stopped 27 Bruins shots.
Stars 3, Avalanche 0: Marty Turco made 20 saves for his 33rd career shutout, Brad Richards notched his first goal in a Dallas uniform, and the Stars ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over Colorado in Dallas.
The Pacific Division-leading Stars have 89 points, maintaining their one-point edge over San Jose.
Center Peter Forsberg was out for the Avs with a groin injury sustained in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Dallas in Denver. He is listed as day-to-day.
Red Wings 4, Predators 3: Johan Franzen scored two power-play goals and host Detroit held on for a victory over Nashville.
NHL-leading Detroit welcomed back captain Nicklas Lidstrom, the star defenseman who missed six games because of a knee injury. He has won five of the last six Norris Trophies as the NHL’s top defenseman. He had two assists.
Oilers 6, Blackhawks 5 (OT): Rookie Andrew Cogliano tipped in his second goal of the game at 3:01 of overtime as Edmonton beat host Chicago.
The Oilers played in their 22nd overtime game, second in the NHL only to Atlanta. Edmonton improved to 17-5 in contests that go to overtime or a shootout.
Ducks 3, Canadiens 1: Chris Kunitz scored the go-ahead goal with 7:24 remaining and Anaheim tied a franchise record by extending its home winning streak to seven games with a victory over Montreal.
The loss kept Montreal a point behind New Jersey in the race for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Blue Jackets 5, Tampa Bay 3: Jason Chimera scored a power-play goal with 3:44 remaining, and Columbus ended a seven-game home winless streak with a victory over Tampa Bay in Columbus, Ohio.