Alyn McCauley and Niko Dimitrakos scored 29 seconds apart in the second period, leading the San Jose Sharks over the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 Wednesday night.
The Sharks clinched the Pacific Division earlier Wednesday when Dallas lost to Edmonton. San Jose will be the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs behind Detroit.
Last year, the Sharks finished 14th in the West but they rebounded this season to establish a new franchise record with 102 points and their highest playoff position.
Evgeni Nabokov made 22 saves to earn his 30th win and ninth shutout of the season.
The Kings have lost nine consecutive games (0-8-0-1), including five straight home losses. They are one defeat short of tying the franchise record of 10 straight, set during the 1983-84 season.
After a scoreless first period, McCauley swiped in a rebound of Alexander Korolyuk's at 10:10 of the second. Roman Cechmanek made an initial save of a breakaway shot by Dimitrakos 29 seconds later but the puck fell into the net as Cechmanek lost his balance and began to topple over.
McCauley scored his 20th goal into an empty net with two minutes to play.
San Jose set the franchise record for road wins (19) while playing away from home for the final time in the regular season. The Sharks have also earned ateam-best 46 road points.
Notes
The Sharks had already eclipsed the franchise record for most points in a season, breaking the mark of 99 set two seasons ago when they won the Pacific Division. ... Seven players set career-best scoring marks for the Sharks this season.
General Manager Doug Wilson nodded in approval and Coach Ron Wilson raved. When Patrick Marleau beat Mike Modano on two key defensive-zone faceoffs late in regulation Sunday, they saw it as another confirmation of the young captain's arrival.
Before the Sharks beat Dallas 2-1 in overtime, they iced the puck twice in a 10-second span with just over a minute left in the third period.
``You want to be out there in the last minute; you want to be depended on,'' Marleau said. ``Every player wants that type of responsibility.''
Marleau won the first draw at the dot to the right of the Sharks' net and took the second at the opposite dot.
``In the past, Patty Marleau probably wouldn't know what to do on faceoffs against, for example, Mike Modano,'' Ron Wilson said. ``Key faceoffs in the third period, and you see him digging in and wanting to take the faceoff.
``Other times I've seen Patty say to Vinnie Damphousse, `Go take the draw.' Or we've got another good faceoff man in Curtis Brown on the ice, `You take the faceoff.' Patty wanted a guy like a Mike Modano, and he blew him away in the third. They were huge faceoffs. That's a sign of good things to come, I think.''
Marleau won 5 of 8 in the third.
``I wasn't doing too bad on faceoffs most of the night,'' Marleau said. ``In your own zone, you want to get at least a tie. I was able to get it behind me, and the D was able to come in and pick it up. I was just trying to come through hard and get a good swipe of the puck.''
At the close of the best season in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks found another magical way to win.
Wayne Primeau scored 2:57 into overtime, and Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves in the Sharks' 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night.
Nils Ekman also scored for the Sharks, who reached 100 points for the first time in franchise history with a gritty defensive game against their closest division rivals. San Jose moved five points ahead of Dallas in the Pacific Division with three games to play.
Pierre Turgeon scored as the Stars nearly hung on for a tie despite the absence of workhorse goalie Marty Turco, who's halfway through a four-game suspension. Ron Tugnutt, Turco's seldom-used veteran backup, made 29 saves -- but he was fooled by Primeau's low shot on the winning goal.
Primeau, a checking forward who hadn't scored a point since Feb. 19, skated down the right side and deked Valeri Bure before beating Tugnutt. The Sharks stormed onto the ice to mob Primeau.
The Sharks can clinch their second division title in three seasons with one win in their final three games. San Jose also moved six points ahead of Colorado for second place in the Western Conference with its 13th home victory in 15 games.
San Jose has authored what is easily the NHL's biggest turnaround this season, rebounding from a 14th-place finish in the West a year ago.
Dallas lost for just the second time in 11 games against its biggest division rival, yet the result wasn't terribly disappointing for the tired and undermanned Stars, who dropped a 3-2 overtime decision at Vancouver on Saturday. Dallas hadn't lost a game in overtime all season before this weekend.
Turco, the NHL leader in victories and games played for goalies, was banned at the most critical point of the season after high-sticking Edmonton's Ryan Smyth. Tugnutt made just his eighth appearance of the season, and though he appeared exhausted in the third period, he hung on to make several big saves.
As befitting a game with playoff implications, both teams played superb defensive hockey. Nabokov, who got a rare night off Friday in Phoenix, was sharp on several tough saves.
But Turgeon got the game's first goal, slipping behind Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren to deflect home Philippe Boucher's pass 90 seconds into the second period. Turgeon, frequently criticized during his tenure in Dallas, has a five-game point streak.
The Sharks answered midway through the period. Catching Dallas late in a change, Ekman slipped behind the defense and batted his own rebound overTugnutt for his 22nd goal.
After handling a few shots, San Jose goalie Vesa Toskala could tell he was on.
``Different days you have different feelings, and today after a couple of saves I realized I was seeing the puck really well,'' Toskala said about his 30-save effort in a 3-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday night.
The Sharks moved closer to winning the Pacific Division crown on the strength of Toskala's first shutout in nearly a year.
Vincent Damphousse had a goal and an assist, and the Sharks opened a five-point lead over idle Dallas in the division race with their 40th victory. With 98 points, San Jose is one point shy of the franchise record set in 2001-02.
Jonathan Cheechoo and Nils Ekman also scored for Sharks, who have earned 15 points in their last nine games (7-1-1).
``I'm just getting the chances, getting the bounces,'' said Cheechoo, who scored his ninth game-winning goal 2:17 into the first period. ``The guys have been finding me wide open, so all I had to do was shoot the puck a bunch of times.''
Toskala's last shutout was March 27, 2003, against Detroit. He and No. 1 goalie Evgeni Nabokov combined for three against the Coyotes this season -- Nabokov beat them 5-0 on Nov. 21 and again Feb. 5.
Sharks coach Ron Wilson said the game was easy to coach -- all he had to do was remind the team about blowing a 2-0 lead Thursday night against Calgary before Damphousse scored with seconds left to give the Sharks the win.
``It could have gone to 2-2 the way we played the last six or seven minutes of the second period,'' Wilson said. ``So that's all I had to talk about was last night. Our play was sloppy at the end of the second period. Third period, we played on the defensive side of the puck.
``We forced them to have to play through us, which is what you have to do in a 2-0 game.''
Phoenix's Brian Boucher stopped 23 shots -- hardly enough to break his slump. Boucher hasn't won in 13 starts (0-10-3) since Feb. 14 and is 3-16-6 since he got the last of his modern-era record five straight shutouts on Jan. 9.
And nobody in net for Phoenix is getting much scoring support. Calgary beat the Coyotes 4-0 Wednesday -- the second time this season they have been blanked in back-to-back games.
Coach Rick Bowness said his team may be able to learn from the Sharks, who missed the playoffs last season after setting team records for victories and points the year before.
``They suffered last year what we're suffering right now, but they did a very good job rebuilding their team, so it can be done,'' Bowness said.
Cheechoo scored his 28th goal -- second among second-year players to Columbus' Rick Nash -- on a power play. Cheechoo swept the rebound of his first shot past Boucher's glove side after Damphousse circled behind and flicked the puck in front of the crease.
Ekman, who had 11 goals in parts of two NHL seasons before the Sharks acquired him from the New York Rangers last summer, got his 21st goal and second in as many games when he redirected a pass from Tom Preissing 3:26 into the second.
Damphousse capped the scoring with 4:45 left in the game with some flashy stickhandling after Phoenix's Matthew Spiller gave up the puck near the Coyotes blue line.
Coming out of the neutral zone, Damphousse deked right and went left to getpast defenseman Derek Morris, then flicked the puck underneath the crossbar.
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Vincent Damphousse banked in a shot off Miikka Kiprusoff's leg with 23.2 seconds to play Thursday night, giving the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 victory over Calgary and sole possession of second place in the Western Conference.
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 28 shots for the Sharks, who got their sixth victory in eight games and moved two points ahead of Colorado in the conference standings. San Jose also took a three-point lead over idle Dallas in the Pacific Division.
Until Damphousse scored a breathtaking goal from behind the net shortly after a power play ended, the Sharks seemed headed to a disheartening tie. San Jose blew a two-goal lead in the final 6 1/2 minutes, allowing goals by Martin Gelinas and Oleg Saprykin.
But Damphousse grabbed a loose puck and threw it at the net, where Kiprusoff inadvertently deflected it into his own net. The goal was Damphousse's 1,201st career point.
Nils Ekman and Mike Ricci scored a minute apart in the second period against Kiprusoff, the Sharks' longtime backup goalie who has thrived in Calgary under former San Jose coach Darryl Sutter. Kiprusoff made 24 saves.
Despite the loss, the Flames appear headed back to the playoffs -- and they could face San Jose. The Sharks have 96 points, three shy of the franchise record, with five games left.
Though Gelinas broke up Nabokov's shutout bid with 6:16 to play, the San Jose goalie was otherwise outstanding. After slumping earlier in the month, Nabokov has posted back-to-back victories over Detroit and Calgary as the Sharks pursue playoff position.
The Sharks ended 36 scoreless minutes when Alyn McCauley flushed the puck out of the corner and Alex Korolyuk made a quick pass to Ekman for the game's first goal. Ekman, buried and forgotten in the New York Rangers' farm system at this time last season, got his 20th goal of the season.
A minute later, Ricci deflected Mike Rathje's shot between his legs and past Kiprusoff. It was the first goal since Feb. 16 for Ricci, who has battled injuries and bounced among the four lines this season while his younger teammates thrived.
Gelinas made an impressive tip to score his 16th goal of the season, deflecting Chris Clark's pass while facing away from the net. Saprykin added apower play goal with 4:01 to play.
The San Jose Sharks examined the Western Conference standings and determined that a victory over Detroit put them in the playoffs.
Nobody else seemed to be able to decipher the complicated scenario -- but given everything they've accomplished in their remarkable comeback season, it's just plain hard to doubt the Sharks these days.
Jonathan Cheechoo scored two goals and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 37 shots, leading the Sharks to a 5-2 victory over the Red Wings on Tuesday night in a meeting of division leaders.
There was no champagne in the San Jose dressing room after a gritty victory over the conference's top team. That's not the style of these Sharks, who still cling to their underdog identity despite a ferocious season.
``Apparently, we're in,'' San Jose coach Ron Wilson said after consulting with his staff. ``It's a great feeling. Our guys have worked really hard. I never would have predicted 94 points, let alone a chance at 100 points.''
A year after plummeting to 14th place in the West, the revamped Sharks are tied with Colorado for second in the conference behind Detroit. San Jose also increased its Pacific Division lead over Dallas to three points.
Scott Hannan and Alex Korolyuk also scored for the Sharks. Vincent Damphousse had a goal and an assist, giving him 1,200 career points.
``We've got about a week and a half to sharpen up our game before the playoffs, and I think we can still get better,'' Damphousse said. ``Getting in (the playoffs) is nice, but we're more worried about first place in our division and staying with Colorado.''
The Sharks got a break during the pregame skate when Curtis Joseph tweaked his oft-injured ankle. Manny Legace had another shaky game in a last-minute start, allowing five goals on just 20 shots.
Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Fischer scored for the Red Wings, who have just one win in their last five games despite clinching the Central Division during that stretch. Detroit controlled long stretches of play and outshot San Jose 39-20, but Nabokov was back in top form after struggling in a 5-2 loss to Edmonton on Sunday.
The Wings have endured a late-season malaise before, but few have been this frustrating. They've taken 96 shots in their last two games -- but they lost both, allowing 13 goals in the process.
Cheechoo, the Sharks' second-leading goal-scorer during his breakout season, had his fourth two-goal performance in San Jose's last seven games. The second-year right wing has 27 goals -- more than Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan or Steve Yzerman, who all struggled to score against Nabokov.
Legace made 15 saves for the Red Wings, who lead the conference with 100 points, but face back-to-back games against Colorado in the next four days -- and Joseph might not be ready.
He injured the same ankle earlier in the season, and its instability could be big trouble in the playoffs. Detroit already lost Dominik Hasek for the season with a nagging groin injury.
``Sometimes I get a pain in (the ankle) for 30 seconds, but it usually goes away,'' Joseph said. ``But this one didn't. ... We took precautions. I've played on it since I came back, and it's felt fine.''
The Sharks are the NHL's best first-period team, and they had yet another fast start with two goals in 1:58 midway through the first period. Hannanscored on a deflected puck, while Cheechoo scored on his own rebound.
When Sharks center Patrick Marleau returned from last spring's World Championships, he was an unsatisfied Canadian gold medalist. He told Sharks general manager Doug Wilson that he was grateful for the experience but unhappy with the way he played. That Marleau had even gone to Finland for the Worlds, considering he was coming off a dismal season with the Sharks and his father was sick, told Wilson something. Marleau's honest assessment of his play told Wilson something else.
Then, days later, Marleau, his agent and Wilson sat down and agreed on a new contract.
"We got that deal done in a day," Wilson says. "It was a sign of leadership by Patty."
In Wilson's eyes, Marleau's actions showed he was ready to be the Sharks' leader on and off the ice. Four days after Marleau signed, winger Marco Sturm agreed to terms, as did center Alyn McCauley. Winger Jonathan Cheechoo signed 10 days later. Wilson says those quick signings were a direct result of Marleau's lead. The Sharks were coming off a season in which they had suffered because key guys held out for better contracts. Marleau's signing had sent the message that such a scenario wouldn't happen again, at least not involving him. This season would be different.
The Sharks' suffering in 2002-03 led to an almost complete overhaul. In December 2002, they fired coach Darryl Sutter and hired Ron Wilson. In March, they traded captain Owen Nolan and veteran Bryan Marchment and fired longtime general manager Dean Lombardi. In May, Doug Wilson was promoted to G.M. after five years as director of pro development.
Before Doug Wilson took the reins, Teemu Selanne walked away as a free agent. Selanne's departure was supposed to be a debilitating hit to an already reeling team, but it became an opportunity. With veteran center Vincent Damphousse, winger Scott Thornton and center Mike Ricci back and a core of experienced younger players in Marleau, Sturm, McCauley, center Wayne Primeau, defenseman Brad Stuart and goalie Evgeni Nabokov, it was time for the kids to take over. With six NHL seasons under his belt, Marleau, 24, was going to lead the way.
The second overall pick in 1997, Marleau has size and hockey smarts and excels because of his ability to anticipate the play, his quickness and his finisher's touch. This season, he is putting it all together. He's making an impact at both ends of the ice -- and with his size. As one Sharks observer put it, "It's like he just realized he's 6-2, 220."
Devils winger Jeff Friesen played with Marleau during Marleau's first four seasons with the Sharks. "Patty was a pretty shy kid," Friesen says. "It just took him a while to gain that confidence. His talent level is phenomenal."
Marleau entered the NHL at 18 and found his share of frustration. Success at such a young age can come in the league, but it won't come easy.
"It could happen if you have a coach who believes in you and you're not being questioned every time you make a few mistakes," Friesen says. "Sutter's a real demanding coach. He loved Patty, but he was hard on him. It just made Patty a better player."
This season, Ron Wilson is reaping the benefits of Sutter's tough love with Marleau. And by being able to set the direction from the beginning of the season, Wilson has molded the Sharks so they rely on speed, puck possession and transition. They forecheck hard and emphasize solid play and good positioning in their own end.
Besides installing the system, Wilson and Wilson wanted to improve three elements of the Sharks' game: penalty killing, goals against and road record. How important are these categories? A year ago, the Stanley Cup champion Devils were the best penalty-killing team in the league, tied for the lowest goals-against average and tied for second in road points in their conference. Doug Wilson often talks about how the Devils were built and the development of the Senators and their style of play. He learned from those successful models, and he and his coach have succeeded in what they set out to do. The numbers tell the story:
- Last season, the Sharks finished last in the league in penalty killing. Through March 14, they were first at home and sixth overall.
- Last season, the Sharks were 26th in goals against. Through March 14, they were sixth.
- Last season, the Sharks were 14th out of the 15 Western Conference teams in road points. Through March 14, they were fourth.
The pieces were in place, but the Sharks didn't click right away. They went 1-5-3-0 to open the season, and it looked to the doubters as though it was going to be another disappointing season in the Shark Tank. These guys weren't ready. They couldn't do what Ron Wilson was asking.
The turning point came after the Sharks lost on the road to the Hurricanes, 3-0, in Game 9. The next day in Tampa, the players -- led by Damphousse -- held a meeting. They closed the doors and hashed things out for two hours. When it was over, they had a new commitment to one another. When one player didn't put in the effort -- not going down to block a shot, for example -- another would call him on it. That kind of peer pressure is key to any team getting the best from its players.
"It's when guys go silent that you have a problem," Doug Wilson says. "They don't play for Ronnie, and they don't play for me. They play for each other."
The team took a serious hit when it lost Sturm to a season-ending ankle injury March 5. Doug Wilson couldn't replace him at the trade deadline, though he did pick up depth players in center Curtis Brown from the Sabres and defenseman Jason Marshall from the Wild. The Sharks head toward the playoffs as a dangerous team but aren't the favorite to come out of the West.
"They have been relatively healthy, have top-end goaltending and get solid play from their top-four defense," says a Western Conference scout. "A lot of their players are at the right age to have breakthrough years, such as Marleau, Nabokov and Sturm before he was hurt."
As for the playoffs?
"Can they do some damage?" asks the scout. "It's always a possibility if Nabokov gets on a roll, but I don't have them up there with Detroit."
Of course, nobody had the Mighty Ducks up there with the Red Wings last season or the Hurricanes on par with the Devils the season before, and look what happened to those two underdogs. Even without Sturm, the Sharks have a solid base, a good system, potential game-stealing goaltending -- and Marleau leading the way.
Patrick Marleau ended his streak of 10 games without a goal midway through the first period Sunday when he put a rebound past Edmonton Oilers goalie Jussi Markkanen while the Sharks were on a power play.
But Sharks Coach Ron Wilson said he wasn't really worried about his team's leading scorer even before Marleau notched his 28th of the season.
``He's had scoring chances, but the puck just hasn't gone in,'' Wilson said before the Sharks' 5-2 loss. ``He's creating opportunities, and that's all that really matters. As long as he's competing hard, he'll get results.
``I'd be concerned if he wasn't working hard or that he didn't think he could contribute in ways other than just scoring. I think he's understanding that you just don't have to score to feel that you're contributing to the success of your team.''
Marleau's goal tied his career high set last season.
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The Edmonton Oilers capitalized on the sloppy goaltending of Evgeni Nabokov to win their fourth consecutive game.
``He's a very good goaltender,'' said Marc-Andre Bergeron, who scored two goals. ``Nabokov just looked tired. On my second goal he was out of position when I got the rebound and there was no way for him to stop it.''
San Jose coach Ron Wilson noticed how Nabokov struggled.
``Their goalie was better than our goalie,'' Wilson said. ``We just have to find a way to get Nabokov some rest. Hopefully Toskala will be back shortly.''
The Sharks' No. 1 goalie is playing more than normal since primary backup Vesa Toskala was injured on March 13 against Los Angeles. Nabokov (26-18-8) allowed five goals on 27 shots Sunday; in his last 10 games, Nabokov has allowed 31 goals.
``He's so in charge out there, he keeps the team calm. And we just don't seem as worried as we were before we got him.'' The Sharks were tied with the Oilers 2-2 with just under eight minutes left in the second period when Jason Smith scored a short-handed goal. He took a drop pass from Mike York and drilled a shot past Nabokov.
Cory Cross opened the scoring for the Oilers, taking a pass from George Laraque from behind the net and firing it over Nabokov's shoulder.
The Sharks tied it when Patrick Marleau scored his 28th goal, knocking in a rebound off Markkanen. The goal broke Marleau's 10-game scoreless streak.
Edmonton retook the lead with 1:56 remaining in the first period when Bergeron put in a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.
Kyle McLaren tied the game with his first career short-handed goal in the second period. Curtis Brown won a faceoff and passed the puck to McLaren at the top of the right face-off circle. McLaren caught Markkanen looking at a leaping Brown and beat the distracted goalie.
After Smith's goal, Eric Brewer made it 4-2. Bergeron's second goal came off a rebound from the left of the crease, his eighth goal of the season.
Notes: Since their last meeting against Edmonton on Dec. 11, a 2-2 tie, the Sharks have gone 17-4-0-1 at home. ... Marleau's goal tied his career high set last year. .
A year ago, the San Jose Sharks had no chance of making the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now they have an outside shot to finish first in the Western Conference.
Alexander Korolyuk broke open a tie game with a pair of third-period goals, and Mark Smith snapped a 35-game scoring drought as the Sharks rallied to beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-2 Friday night.
Brad Stuart had a goal and an assist, Nils Ekman had three assists, and Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves for the Sharks, who extended their lead in the Pacific Division to five points over Dallas. They are one point behind second-place Colorado in the Western Conference and five behind Detroit with eight games remaining.
``Our chances of catching Detroit are pretty slim -- but we have a game left with them. And if we can get some help from some other teams here in Southern California, you never know,'' coach Ron Wilson said.
``As crazy as it is, we could be playing Detroit for first place. But you don't want to far ahead of yourselves. This was a huge win for us. We've given ourselves a little breathing room.''
Stanislav Chistov and Sergei Fedorov scored 59 seconds apart for the Ducks, who have only one win in seven games. Anaheim defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh played for the first time since Dec. 19 after missing 42 games because of an injured left shoulder.
The Ducks and Sharks ended the first period tied 2-2, after combining for 15 goals in the previous five meetings this season. Martin Gerber allowed two goals on 12 shots and was replaced by Jean-Sebastien Giguere at 11:34 of the period after giving up Smith's 10th career goal and first since last April 2.
Giguere, who was 3-8 against the Sharks, stopped San Jose's next 20 shots before Korolyuk beat him with a screened shot from the slot with 16:08 to play while Ruslan Salei was serving a high-sticking penalty.
About seven minutes after Korolyuk's first goal, Fedorov carried the puck into the Sharks' zone at full speed and knocked Nabokov's mask off his head with a long slap shot. The strap on the mask snapped and Nabokov was dazed for a couple of minutes, but he finished the game.
Korolyuk made it 4-2 with his career-high 17th goal, as his intended pass for Ekman deflected in off the skate of Anaheim's Rob Niedermayer with 3:51 left.
Chistov, playing his third game since getting recalled from the minors, opened the scoring on a power play at 2:43 of the first period with his secondgoal of the season -- and first since Dec. 22 against the Sharks.
Cheechoo connected twice on power plays in the second period, and Alexander Korolyuk also scored with the man advantage as the Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 Thursday night.
``This is probably the best streak I've been on ever since I've turned pro,'' said Cheechoo, who had nine goals in 66 games as a rookie last season. ``Everything just seems to be going in.''
It was the third two-goal effort in four games by Cheechoo, who scored twice in the final 1:37 of regulation in a tie at Dallas on Tuesday.
``We saw what we had in him last year, but we just had to make some room so he'd have a chance to grow -- and he has,'' Sharks coach Ron Wilson said.
``We expected him, with increased ice time, to score and maybe produce 15 or 20 goals. But I don't think anybody projected 25 or 30 goals from him. He's obviously hot, and that's what happens to some players -- especially goal-scorers. So you have to keep riding them.''
Curtis Brown also scored twice for the Pacific Division-leading Sharks, who lead Dallas by three points.
``At this point of the season, it doesn't matter what team you're playing or where you're at. It's playoff time. So every time you go out and lace them up, it's a huge game,'' Brown said. ``But you don't want to get too far ahead of yourselves, and we're definitely not doing that.''
Lubomir Visnovsky and Derek Armstrong scored power-play goals, and rookie Esa Pirnes got his first career short-handed goal for the Kings, who remained a point behind Nashville for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with nine to play.
Los Angeles' loss clinched a playoff spot for Detroit.
Roman Cechmanek returned after missing 12 games with a groin injury, but was pulled after giving up four goals on 13 shots through the first two periods.
``I haven't played for a long time, but I have to be ready for every game. I can't play like this,'' said Cechmanek, who had the second-lowest goals-against average in the NHL last season with Philadelphia.
The Kings tied it 2-all at 17:20 of the first period when Visnovsky beat Evgeni Nabokov from the slot.
But San Jose regained the lead for good at 1:05 of the second when Cheechoo converted a rebound of Patrick Marleau's short backhander.
``Cechmanek plays an unorthodox style,'' Cheechoo said. ``At times, he's on top of it and you can't get a puck past him. But tonight he was playing for the first time in a while, so we just tried to throw everything at the net and pucks started finding their way in.''
Cheechoo made it 4-2 at 15:39 of the second, shooting in Tom Preissing's one-timer from the high slot for his 25th goal. Armstrong responded 38 seconds later with his 14th goal, redirecting Visnovsky's one-timer from the high slot, but Brown put it away with an empty-net goal.
The Kings scored on their first shot against Nabokov, but the Sharks connected on their first two against Cechmanek.
Pirnes intercepted a short pass from Niko Dimitrakos to Vincent Damphousse at the blue line and went in alone on Nabokov.
There were still six seconds left on San Jose's power play when Korolyuk converted a backhanded pass through the slot from Nils Ekman and beat Cechmanek high to the glove side. It was Korolyuk's career-high 15th goal, one more than he had in 1999-00 with the Sharks.
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 6:43 of the first period when Brown stickhandled around Miller in the left circle and slid the puck past Cechmanek's outstretched right leg. It was Brown's 10th goal of the season andfirst in four games since joining the Sharks from Buffalo on March 9.
A third-period turnaround earned the San Jose Sharks a precious point in their Pacific Division race with the Dallas Stars.
Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice in the final 1:37 of regulation, including the tying goal with 34 seconds left, as the Sharks rallied for a 3-3 tie with the Stars on Tuesday night.
Jason Arnott had two goals for the Stars, who were on the verge of closing within a point of first-place San Jose in the division. Dallas held a three-goal lead until its late collapse.
The Stars are usually a lock to win when they lead after two periods. They are 59-0-8 over the past two seasons when they take a lead into the final period.
``It was pretty tough being down 3-0, especially against these guys,'' Cheechoo said. ``We're battling for the top spot and we needed a better effort. We turned up the heat in the third. It was huge for us to salvage a point.''
The Stars lost the aggressiveness that got them the lead and were outshot in the third period 12-3. Dallas was guilty of several late turnovers, including one by defenseman Chris Therien that led to Cheechoo's tying goal.
Stars goaltender Marty Turco was 6:03 away from his 20th career shutout and third blanking of the Sharks this season when Nils Ekman scored a short-handed goal for the Sharks.
Cheechoo narrowed the Dallas advantage to 3-2, scoring from the right circle with 1:37 left.
With goaltender Evgeni Nabokov on the bench for a sixth attacker, Cheechoo tied it at 19:26, converting Scott Thornton's centering pass from the right boards through Turco's pads for Cheechoo's 23nd goal of the season.
Dallas was able to extend its franchise record home unbeaten streak to 15 games (11-0-4), but the Stars stayed three points behind the Sharks in the division.
San Jose has 10 games left, one more than Dallas.
``It's ours to win,'' Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. ``We just have to go and win it.
The teams have one more regular-season meeting on March 28 in San Jose.
The Stars continued the longest home unbeaten streak in the NHL since the Detroit Red Wings put together a 19-game run from Dec. 31, 2000 to April 7, 2001. Dallas' last home loss was Jan. 10 against Colorado.
Nabokov had 18 saves for the Sharks, 9-4-1-1 in their last 15 games.
Arnott scored on a one-timer from the slot off a centering feed from Guerin to get Dallas started at 9:54 of the first period.
Sergei Zubov added a power-play goal on a slap shot from the left point that got past a screened Nabokov at 14:59 of the opening period.
Arnott made it 3-0 at 13:49 of the second period, seven seconds into a powerplay, scoring his 19th on a rebound of Valeri Bure's shot.
Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala teamed up in goal to beat the Los Angeles Kings.
Nabokov made 25 shots in relief of the injured Toskala to help the Sharks beat the Kings 3-1 on Saturday.
``I was a little worried when I took over,'' said Nabokov, who entered the game battling a virus. ``But I started to feel more and more confident as the game went on.''
The win increased the Sharks' lead over Dallas to five points in the Pacific Division. The Stars lost 3-0 to Detroit on Saturday.
Nabokov started the second period after Toskala left the game with a lower body injury. Toskala faced eight shots in the first period, which ended with San Jose up 2-1.
``I took this shot and then I felt something,'' Toskala said.
``Some football teams use two quarterbacks,'' San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. ``I was concerned when we put Nabokov in because he's been struggling so much. But maybe the day off helped him.''
Over his last five games, Nabokov had been gone 2-3 and allowed 20 goals.
``He made some unbelievable saves out there,'' Wilson said. ``Those last three minutes were the best defense this team has play all season.''
With nearly three minutes left in the game, the Kings pulled goalie Christobal Huet for a sixth-attacker.
But shot after shot failed against Nabokov and the Sharks.
``We failed in finish our opportunities,'' Kings coach Andy Murray said. ``We had ample opportunities to put pucks behind Nabokov in the last two periods but couldn't do get that done.''
San Jose took the lead for good midway through the opening period when Nils Ekman scored his 18th goal of the season off a cross-crease pass from Kyle McLaren.
``We seem to be finding the puck much faster today,'' Ekman said. ``I was trying to thread through the defense when they pulled back too soon and as I came in late I was open.''
Alyn McCauley put the Sharks up 3-1 in the second when he tipped in a pass from Ekman for his 18th of the season.
The Sharks took an early lead on a power-play goal from Niko Dimitrakos a little more than five minutes into the game. Dimitrakos used a screen from Patrick Marleau to get a shot from the top of the blue line through the legs of Huet for his eighth goal of the season.
The Kings tied the game four minutes later when Joe Corvo scored his eighth goal.
Huet had 24 saves.
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Nils Ekman had a goal and two assists during a wild second period, and the San Jose Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Jonathan Cheechoo scored two goals for the Sharks, who chased Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro with five goals in 19 minutes spanning the second and third periods. San Jose expanded its Pacific Division lead over Dallas to three points by finally breaking out of its slump -- at least on offense.
Alex Korolyuk and Alyn McCauley each had a goal and an assist in San Jose's ninth home victory in 10 games.
The Sharks had lost their previous three games by a combined score of 13-4 -- and while goalie Evgeni Nabokov remained stuck in his slump, San Jose's offense emerged from a funk after the loss of second-leading scorer Marco Sturm to a broken ankle last week.
Cliff Ronning scored two goals for the Islanders, who contributed three of the seven goals scored in the second period. Michael Peca and Arron Asham also scored as New York's winless streak reached six games (0-3-1-2) despite outshooting San Jose 41-28.
The Islanders' lead over Buffalo has dropped to four points in the race for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot. Each team has 12 games remaining.
Nabokov stopped 37 shots, but he has allowed at least three goals in each of his last five games.
After a scoreless first period, seven goals were scored in the first 15 minutes of the second. San Jose got three goals in seven minutes -- the first on Korolyuk's long slap shot and the third on Cheechoo's deflection of Brad Stuart's shot for his 20th goal.
When Ronning got his second goal of the period with 5:28 to play, both goalies appeared to be completely discombobulated. Nabokov faced 29 shots in the first two periods, and DiPietro allowed four goals on seven shots in the second period -- though two were mostly attributable to defensive lapses by his teammates.
When Cheechoo scored his second goal on a wraparound two minutes into the third -- again set up by the Islanders' poor defense -- New York coach Steve Stirling had mercy on DiPietro, replacing him with Garth Snow.
The Islanders closed within 5-4 on Peca's goal midway through the third, but San Jose's defense curtailed New York's scoring chances down the stretch.Nabokov made two desperate saves in the final seconds.
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Zbynek Michalek and Alexandre Daigle scored goals 1:35 apart in the second period, and the Minnesota Wild ended a seven-game winless streak with a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
Matt Johnson and Alex Henry also scored as the Wild snapped a six-game winless skid on the road.
Alexander Korolyuk scored twice for the Sharks, who lost at home for the first time in nine games and third straight overall. Scott Hannan also scored for San Jose.
Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov was honored for his 25th career shutout 10 days ago in a brief ceremony before the game. He has allowed 11 goals in losing his last three games. Nabokov won his previous five games, giving up 10 goals.
The Sharks failed to increase their two-point lead in the Pacific Division after the Dallas Stars lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 earlier.
The Sharks opened the scoring in the first two minutes on a goal by Korolyuk. Nils Ekman sent a pass across the front of the goal after getting his defender on the ground and drawing Wild goalkeeper Manny Fernandez to his side.
Minnesota responded 10 minutes later when Johnson, who scored his first goal in 22 games, fired in a shot from the top of the crease after receiving a pass from Eric Chouinard.
The Wild went ahead 2-1 with just under four minutes left in the first period when Henry went top shelf off the rebound of his own shot, which bounced off Nabokov's pads.
Michalek increased the lead at 11:46 of the second period with a slap shot near the point off a faceoff. Daigle scored less than two minutes later, ending Nabakov's night.
Hannan scored at 15:45 of the third period, slapping a loose puck by Fernandez.
Korolyuk scored his second goal of the night to make it 4-3 with 5:51 remaining. He skated with the puck through three defenders and beat Fernandez low.
Minnesota was outshot 14-2 in the final period.
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The Dallas Stars moved two points closer in their season-long pursuit of the San Jose Sharks. Marty Turco made 22 saves for his 19th career shutout, and the Stars set a franchise record with a 14-game home unbeaten streak in a 4-0 victory over the Sharks on Sunday.
The Stars, who in late February trailed the first-place Sharks by eight points in the Pacific Division, have 81 points, two behind San Jose.
The teams have two more regular-season meetings: March 16 in Dallas and March 28 in San Jose.
Jon Klemm and Pierre Turgeon set the tone when they scored in the first six minutes, and Stu Barnes added three assists.
Rob DiMaio had a second-period goal and Corson scored his first of the season with 5:47 left.
Dallas came out aggressively, getting the first nine shots on goal to build a 2-0 first-period advantage.
Klemm gave the Stars the lead 1:54 after the opening faceoff when his shot from the point got past screened goalie Evgeni Nabokov.
Turgeon followed with his 11th of the season, scoring from close range off a setup by Corson.
``Today I think emotions maybe got the better of us,'' said Sharks left wing Scott Thornton. ``We were a little tentative early ... but once we regrouped after the first period, I thought we played a pretty solid game.''
DiMaio stretched the lead to 3-0 midway in the second period, converting a pass from Jere Lehtinen on a two-on-one.
The Sharks were upset over a third-period play resulting in a minor knee injury to defenseman Tom Preissing. He was racing Dallas' Brenden Morrow in an effort to touch the puck behind San Jose's net for an icing call. Preissing slid skate-first into the end boards, and the Sharks claimed Morrow used his stick to knock Preissing off-balance.
``I think it's a cheap play to try and put your stick through the guy's feet,'' Thornton said. ``I think it's dangerous whenever you're taking guys off-balance in that situation.''
No penalty was called. Three fights ensued, including one with Morrow initiated by Mark Smith seconds after Preissing's fall.
Morrow said there was no intent to injure.
``I don't think I got him,'' Morrow said. ``I think I may have gotten his stick. It looked to me like he just lost an edge.''
Preissing was holding an icebag on his left knee after the game, but said the injury was not serious.
The Sharks were still reeling from Friday night's injury to their second-leading scorer, Marco Sturm, on a similar play against Colorado. Sturm slid skate-first into the end boards, resulting in a season-ending ankle injury.
San Jose coach Ron Wilson said the two plays could be a message to the league to adopt no-touch icing.
``If there's anything positive, it's that the higher-ups in the league will understand that automatic icing ... you'd have a unanimous vote from thecoaches and players,'' Wilson said.
The Colorado Avalanche recently started doing the things that would end their monthlong winless streak at home.
On Friday night, the skid finally ended at eight games with a 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Joe Sakic had a goal and two assists and Milan Hejduk added a goal and an assist for Colorado.
Steve Moore and Peter Worrell added goals and John-Michael Liles had two assists for Colorado, 0-4-3-1 before the win.
The Avalanche increased their lead in the Northwest Division to three points over Vancouver, who lost to Detroit.
Alexander Korolyuk scored for the Sharks, who had won five of six. Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov allowed three goals before being pulled in the second period and had his five-game winning streak snapped.
``Once we got back into it our goalies weren't having their best night,'' San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. ``You're going to need big saves and they weren't there.''
Wilson had other concerns as the Sharks lost Marco Sturm to a season-ending broken left leg at 11:26 of the first period. Sturm was rode feet first into the boards behind the Colorado net by Adam Foote.
``I looked away,'' Shark Vincent Damphousse said. ``You're talking about the most dangerous play in hockey where guys are going a hundred miles an hour going in to touch up the puck.''
Although outplayed and outshot 11-7 in the first period, Colorado led 2-0 on goals by Moore and Hejduk. Nabokov stopped a shot from the right point by Liles, but Moore put in the rebound at 2:17.
Hejduk tapped in a pass from Sakic for his 31st of the year at 6:22.
Colorado added two goals in the second period. Tanguay skated in alone on Nabokov to score at 5:20. After the Sharks pulled Nabokov at 5:54, Sakic scored a fluke goal off replacement Vesa Toskala at 8:06. Sakic's centering pass from behind the net went off the back of Toskala's left skate and into the net.
Korolyuk made it 4-1 for the Sharks, deflecting in a shot from the right point by Alyn McCauley at 9:34 of the second period.
Worrell scored his first goal in 23 games in the third period with abackhander off the near boards that went between Toskala's pads.
Former Montreal captain Vincent Damphousse had a goal and two assists in the San Jose Sharks' franchise-record eighth straight home victory, 4-3 over the Canadiens on Wednesday night.
Brad Stuart had a career-high three points with a goal and two assists, while Marco Sturm and Niko Dimitrakos also scored in the Sharks' fifth win in six games overall. San Jose snapped Montreal's five-game winning streak with a season-high three power-play goals.
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 25 shots as the Pacific Division-leading Sharks kept the heat on Detroit for the top spot in the Western Conference, remaining four points behind the Red Wings. San Jose moved into a tie for second place in the conference with the Colorado Avalanche, who tied Vancouver 5-5.
Yanic Perreault, Andrei Markov and Mike Ribeiro scored for the Canadiens, 28th in the NHL in penalty-killing on the road. Jose Theodore made 25 saves, but those penalty-killing struggles were the difference in the opener of Montreal's four-game road trip.
San Jose took a 4-2 lead with three goals in the second period. Ribeiro scored a power-play goal from behind the net, bouncing the puck off Nabokov's leg midway through the third, but the Sharks hung on in the final minutes.
Right wing Alex Kovalev, acquired by Montreal from the New York Rangers on Tuesday, watched from the press box. He'll be in the Canadiens lineup Friday in Phoenix.
The Sharks also made a deal Wednesday, picking up veteran defenseman Jason Marshall from Minnesota for a draft pick.
The Sharks scored in the opening seconds of two power plays in the second period. Damphousse tipped home Stuart's shot, and Sturm later scored a close-range goal on a pass from Damphousse.
When Dimitrakos ripped a long shot over Theodore's stick shoulder late in the period, the Sharks were well on their way to earning a point for the 27th time in their 32 home games.
San Jose hasn't lost at home since Jan. 22 against Phoenix.