ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) _ Marco Sturm scored two goals as the San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-2 Wednesday night despite Paul Kariya's first goal in 11 games.

Marcus Ragnarsson got the go-ahead goal, Owen Nolan had a goal and an assist and Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves for the Sharks, who are 3-0 against Anaheim since the trade last March 5 that sent Jeff Friesen and goaltender Steve Shields to the Ducks for Teemu Selanne.

The Ducks, who drew a sellout last April 8 in Selanne's first game back at the Pond, played this time in front of the lowest turnout in the building's nine-year history 9,273. The previous low was 9,579, on Oct. 14 against Tampa Bay.

The Sharks took a 3-2 lead at 9:32 of the second period with the teams skating 4-on-4, as Ragnarsson glided down the slot and beat Shields to the glove side after getting a centering pass from Selanne. Nolan set up Sturm's second goal with 9:11 remaining.

Kariya, who had been blanked on 38 shots spanning 250 minutes and 21 seconds over the previous 10 games, tied it at 2 during a hooking penalty against Adam Graves. It was his first goal since opening night at Boston, when he beat Byron Dafoe with his first shot of the season _ a 10-foot backhander.

Steve Rucchin was bottled up in front of the net and slid the puck to Kariya in the middle of the left circle. Kariya took a slap shot that went in off the right post at 7:16 of the second.

Shields, who made 21 saves in his first start against his ex-teammates, stopped San Jose's first nine shots before Nolan and Sturm scored on consecutive shots 40 seconds apart to erase the 1-0 lead Matt Cullen gave the Ducks.

Nolan got a pass from Vincent Damphousse in the right circle and beat Shields with a one-timer that deflected in off the goalie's stick. The goal was Nolan's 351st point in a Sharks uniform, breaking Friesen's club record in 68 fewer games.

Sturm scored while teammate Niklas Sundstrom was off for tripping. He intercepted Oleg Tverdovsky's pass at the Sharks' blue line, then outraced Kariya down the ice and beat Shields between the pads.< ^Notes:@ Kariya, whose 10-game goal drought matched the longest of his career, has 19 goals in 33 games against the Sharks. The only team to give up more to the five-time All-Star is Los Angeles (21).

... Shields, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder following the trade, is 2-5-1 since. Friesen has five goals and 13 assists in 27 games with Anaheim. Selanne has nine goals and 13 assists in 24 regular-season games since leaving the Ducks.

... San Jose became the last team in the league to play an opponent in its own division, after Philadelphia completed its game against Pittsburgh.

... Graves, who set a New York Rangers club record with 52 goals in their 1993-94 Stanley Cup season, has been blanked in his first 12 games with San Jose.

San Jose Sharks right wing Owen Nolen, top left, celebrates with teammates, including Brad Stuart, lower left, and center Patrick Marleau, lower right, after scoring the Sharks' first goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period in San Jose, Calif., Saturday Oct. 27, 2001. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Evgeni Nabokov recorded his ninth career shutout and rookie Jeff Jillson notched his first goal as the San Jose Sharks posted a 2-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Nabokov needed to make just one save in the first period, eight in the second and seven in the third for his second shutout of the season. He was involved in a 0-0 tie against the Minnesota Wild on October 6.

Last season's Rookie of the Year, Nabokov made his best two saves at 16:05 into the second. He sprawled to his right to stop Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre's shot from the right side of the crease and got his glove on Mike Sillinger's effort on the rebound.

Later in the period, the Sharks -- debuting an all-black third jersey -- killed off a 5-on-3.

"The 5-on-3 is a chance to get back in the game," Columbus coach Dave King said. "Nabakov was pretty good, too. He made some big saves, he played well. They got some timely saves."

Jillson, a 21-year-old defenseman, gave San Jose a 2-0 lead with 2:41 left in the second period while on the power play. He one-timed Gary Suter's pass from the right point past goaltender Ron Tugnutt.

"It's always a great moment (when you get your first goal)," Jillson said. "I'm happy to get it over with. More happy, though, I'm happy that we played well and got the win."

Marcus Ragnarsson also scored on the power play as the Sharks returned home from a disappointing road trip and avoided a three-game losing streak.

"I think coming off the road with two straight losses, we knew we had to win this game," said Ragnarsson, who collected just his 23rd career goal in 435 games. "If we didn't come up with a win, we'd be in a lot of trouble. So we knew we had to get a win tonight. We need to keep going. If we play simple, good things will happen, like it did tonight. So I think that's the way we'll have to play throughout the year."

Ragnarsson put an odd-angled wrist shot past Tugnutt 9:30 into the first period.

"We seem to be a different team when we get that first goal," San Jose right wing Owen Nolan said. "We play a lot more comfortable, better defensively. It seems like when the other team scores first, we kind of open up a little bit and that's not our game style."

Nolan collected two assists to tie Jeff Friesen's record for most career points in a Sharks uniform with 350 -- 163 goals and 187 assists.

"I haven't had time to think about that," he said. "My main concern is my team getting on a roll and moving up in the standings. It's an honor to have it but there's some great young kids that will probably surpass that."

Tugnutt finished with 19 saves for the Blue Jackets, who lost their fourth straight game and fell to 1-6-4 this season. They have been shut out two times and outscored 19-3 over their last four contests.

"(This at least) showed that our defensive game was better," Tugnutt said. "We lost by so many goals the last few games. I think that's a credit to the way we played defensively and now it's a matter of getting the offense going. We need to build on this. We came in against a very good hockey team. We played them hard and improved in some areas, which we needed to do, and hopefully this will lead to better things down the road."

San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau, left, battles Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Serge Aubin during the first period in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 27, 2001. Photo by Eric Risberg (AP)

San Jose Sharks' Patrick Marleau (12) watches his shot go past Chicago Blackhawks goalie Jocelyn Thibault (41) in the third period Thursday, Oct.25, 2001 in Chicago. The Blackhawks won 4-2. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell)

After the first half of the game was scoreless, Daze put the Blackhawks on the board with his seventh goal of the season 11:06 into the second period.

Daze took a loose puck at the red line, crossed the blue line and from the right faceoff circle wristed a shot through Sharks defenseman Bryan Marchment's legs. The puck went past the left post over goaltender Evgeni Nabokov's stick side.

The Blackhawks' next two goals came with the man advantage on consecutive penalties by the Sharks.

Newcomer Jon Klemm scored his second goal of the season with 3:03 left in the period. During a two-man advantage, Klemm was in the right slot and fired home a wrist shot to make it 2-0.

Just 43 seconds later, Klemm set up Kyle Calder, who tipped in the puck from the left side of Nabokov for his sixth goal of the season.

The Sharks scored twice in the third, but Alexei Zhamnov had an empty-net goal with 51 seconds remaining.

For the second consecutive game, the second period was San Jose's undoing. On Tuesday, the Sharks allowed two goals at Buffalo in the middle period. They have been outscored, 16-3, in the second session this season.

Martin Biron may not be Dominik Hasek but he is doing his winner.

Making his seventh straight start, Biron stopped 19 shots and Vaclav Varada and Tim Connolly scored second-period goals as the Buffalo Sabres posted a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks.

The Sabres were in control throughout and their defense was so dominant that San Jose went 21 minutes without a shot, failing to test Biron from the last 13 minutes of the second through the first eight minutes of the third.

For the second straight game, Biron carried a shutout late into the third. But Marco Sturm ended his bid with just over three minutes left, scoring his second goal of the season.

The Sabres took a 1-0 lead 4:19 into the second on Varada's second goal of the season. Jay McKee picked up a loose puck at center ice and found Varada, who wristed a 60-footer that deflected off Sharks defenseman Jeff Jillson's stick and past goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

Tim Connolly scored Buffalo's second goal just over nine minutes later. Connolly won a faceoff and fired a wrist shot that was misplayed by Kiprusoff.

Buffalo won consecutive games for the first time this season and improved to 10-0-0 all time at home against San Jose.

Adam Graves didn't disappoint in his return to Madison Square Garden.

After being brought to tears during an emotional pregame tribute, Graves assisted on Vincent Damphousse's third-period goal to help the San Jose Sharks to a 5-1 win over his former team, the New York Rangers.

Graves, who spent the previous 10 seasons with the Rangers and helped them win their first Stanley Cup since 1940 in 1994, was traded to San Jose during the offseason.

Always a fan favorite, Graves was greeted with a rousing ovation during a pregame ceremony and received a smattering of applause when his name was announced on Damphousse's first goal of the night.

With 38 seconds to go in the second period, San Jose regained a two-goal lead with its second power-play goal of the game. Damphousse collected a rebound of Graves' shot from the left faceoff circle and buried it on the right side.

San Jose built a 4-1 lead 2:05 into the third period, when Patrick Marleau spun away from the Rangers defense at the right boards and fired a shot over the shoulder of rookie goaltender Dan Blackburn.

Damphousse scored his second goal of the night on a shorthanded breakaway with 3:04 remaining to secure the win.v Teemu Selanne recorded two assists and Evgeni Nabokov finished with 31 saves to rebound from his last start, a 6-1 loss in New Jersey on Thursday.

San Jose opened the scoring 3:40 into the first period when Mike Ricci sent a pass through the crease to Scott Thornton at the left side of the net. Thornton deflected the puck over Blackburn.

The Sharks scored again six minutes later. Selanne set up the play from behind the net, feeding the puck to the top of the crease for Graves, who fanned on the one-timer. But the puck trickled back to defenseman Brad Stuart, who fired it through traffic for a 2-0 lead.

Defenseman Brian Leetch got New York on the board with 3:53 remaining in the second period, collecting the puck off a faceoff won by Mark Messier and firing a slap shot through traffic.

The Rangers gained some momentum late in the first period and early in the third but struggled to get on the board.

Defenseman Vladimir Malakhov nearly cut New York's deficit to one with 48 seconds remaining in the first when his shot from the left faceoff circle hit the right goalpost and slid along the goal line before Nabokov covered up.

The Rangers failed to convert on a 54-second 5-on-3 to open the second period. Nabokov came up with three key saves, including two point-blank one-timers by Radek Dvorak and another by Eric Lindros at the left side of the net.

Rangers defenseman Dave Karpa left the game during the first period with a separated left shoulder and did not return.

Hockey is back on Long Island. Even in the form of a tie.

The New York Islanders treated their fans to a memorable day at the Nassau Coliseum, honoring one of their favorite sons before their current ones skated to a thrilling 2-2 tie with the San Jose Sharks.

Vincent Damphousse scored his second goal of the game with six seconds left in regulation, spoiling an otherwise perfect day for the Islanders, who retired the uniform No. 19 of Bryan Trottier.

The Isles carried the spirit of the 40-minute pregame ceremony into the game but needed a pair of third-period goals to take their first lead, with Alexei Yashin making it 2-1 with 60 seconds to play.

Both teams had golden scoring opportunities in the last minute of overtime and each final buzzer.

Despite relinquishing the lead late in regulation, the Islanders added to their league-leading point total, moving to 6-0-1-1. They are 0-0-1-1 at home.

It has been quite a turnaround for the Isles, whose dynasty of the 1980s featuring Trottier has been overshadowed by recent embarrassments, including eight straight losing seasons.

But the team has been rejuvenated by the ownwership of Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar, the acquisitions of Yashin, Michael Peca and Chris Osgood and the hiring of coach Peter Laviolette.

"We're working very well together and building a style of play that gives us the opportunities to win hockey games," Yashin said. "Everybody is pulling in the right direction."

Osgood has been one of the Islanders' best players. He kept them close throughout regulation and finished with 35 saves.

The crowd roared with every scoring chance and finally erupted when defenseman Kenny Jonsson tied it 8:18 into the third period, scoring his first goal through screened goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

Yashin gave New York its first lead with a minute left, following a gritty individual effort from Oleg Kvasha and poking a loose puck between Kiprusoff's right skate and the goalpost.

"He's capable of providing a lot of offense in the third period, and that's what he did today," Laviolette said of Yashin. "We made that deal for offense and he's certainly given that to us so far this year."

Even the normally mild-mannered Yashin got caught up in the emotion after his goal, leaping into the arms of a teammate in anticipation of another victory.

But the Sharks kept the puck in the Islanders' zone for more than 30 seconds and tied it when Damphousse one-timed Teemu Selanne's feed past Osgood from the low slot.

"When I saw Teemu behind the net with the puck, I went straight to the slot and I was able to get a good shot that went over his shoulder," said Damphousse, who played on a line with Selanne and Stephane Matteau for the first time.

Damphousse's goal helped the Sharks move to 0-1-2 on a six-game road trip. On Tuesday, they scored twice in the third period for a 3-3 tie at Minnesota.

"Coming back from behind is the way things have gone for us this year," Damphousse said. "It seems to be a trend."

The Islanders did not lose their confidence in overtime. They carried the play, despite being outshot 5-2, and nearly won when Jonsson hit the goalpost with 53 seconds left.

"The big thing after allowing the tying goal was not to lose our focus," Laviolette said. "We wanted to go out and get the extra point in OT, and I think we dominated overtime."

The Sharks nearly scored on a 2-on-1 in the closing seconds, but Mike Ricci tapped a loose puck past Osgood after the final horn. After the game, officials reviewed the play and Jonsson's shot off the post.

Although his team did not lose, Laviolette treated it that way.

"Am I mad that we lost? Yes," he said. "Am I mad at the way we played? No. We played our hearts out. It just didn't work out with us getting a win."

But things have been working out for the Islanders this season, and they have brought back the excitement to the Coliseum, which had its second sellout crowd of the season.

The Isles also sold out last Saturday's 5-4 overtime loss to Detroit, when a raucous crowd of 16,234 welcomed home their team from a season-opening 4-0 road trip. Similarly, the Red Wings tied that game in the final seconds.

Saturday's game had a similar feel, especially during pregame ceremonies.

"Today is a day we have been waiting for for a very long time," Wang told the crowd. "Just last Saturday, everyone said the roof almost blew off the Coliseum. I think it was just a warmup for today."

San Jose Sharks right wing Niklas Sundstrom (L) celebrates his goal with teammate Patrick Marleau (R) as Minnesota Wild defense Nick Schultz skates past in the background during the first period of their NHL game in the Xcel Energy Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, October 16, 2001. Marleau assisted on the goal. San Jose tied Minnesota, 3-3. Both teams remain undefeated in the NHL. REUTERS/Eric Miller

Mike Ricci's power-play goal with 2:32 left in regulation gave the San Jose Sharks a 3-3 tie with the Minnesota Wild, who remained the only unbeaten team in the NHL.

With Minnesota center Aaron Gavey in the penalty box for hooking, Ricci was stationed at the edge of the slot and deflected defenseman Gary Suter's shot past goaltender Dwayne Roloson for his first goal of the season.

"Go change it," Ricci said. "I don't think it hit me."

Suter had a chance to win it for San Jose with 17 seconds left in overtime after Niklas Sundstrom took a shot from just inside the blue line. But Roloson gloved the puck and held on. Seconds earlier, Owen Nolan was stopped by Roloson after taking a shot from the left faceoff circle.

"It was a big goal," Suter said. "It's well-documented we struggled the last two games (on the power play)."

The Sharks were 1-for-6 with the man advantage while killing all five Minnesota power plays.

Red-hot Stacy Roest tried to win it for the Wild with a point-blank shot on Evgeni Nabokov, who made a glove save before could get to the rebound.

Minnesota's season-opening six-game unbeaten streak (3-0-3) is two games shy of the longest in its brief history.

"I'm happy to get a point against a team that good," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "But I'm disappointed that we were leading by two goals and we make a couple of mistakes we usually don't make."

Sundstrom and Mark Smith also scored for the Sharks, who are unbeaten in four of their last five games (2-0-2-1).

"It's took us a while to get going tonight, but it was nice to at least get the tie," Nolan said.

The Wild took the lead 5:45 into the opening period when Marian Gaborik deflected a pass in the slot from Jim Dowd past Nabokov for his second goal of the season and second in as many games.

"(Gaborik) reads the ice real well and has very good speed," San Jose assistant coach Lorne Molleken said. "He is going to be a very good player."

The Sharks tied it with 5:24 left in the period on Sundstrom's first goal of the season when he took Patrick Marleau's pass from behind the goal line and shot the puck past Roloson's glove side.

Dowd broke the deadlock just under six minutes into the second period on a tip-in of Andrew Brunette's shot from the left circle.

After Antti Laaksonen gave the Wild a two-goal advantage with 8:06 left in the period, the Sharks got within 3-2 when Smith grabbed Matt Bradley's pass along the right side and faked defenseman Lubomir Sekeras, walked in on Roloson and put the puck past the goalie's left pad for his first goal.

"We played such a good, solid game," Dowd said. "We need to learn to just skate the whole 20 minutes of the third period."

Owen Nolan and Marco Sturm scored 79 seconds apart in the third period as the San Jose Sharks stunned the Boston Bruins, 3-2.

San Jose was on a power play when Nolan took a pass from Vincent Damphousse and fired a slap shot from beyond the right faceoff circle that deflected off Boston defenseman Don Sweeney and past goalender Byron Dafoe to tie it at 2-2 with 95 seconds left.

The Sharks kept the pressure on Dafoe and Patrick Marleau nearly scored on a shot from the slot. After Dafoe made a pad save, Marleau sent a pass back to Sturm, who lifted a backhander over the goalie from the right of the crease for his first goal of the season.

San Jose had just 12 shots over the first 40 minutes before outshooting the Bruins, 16-5, in the third period.

The Sharks were unable to beat Dafoe until defenseman Brad Stuart got his first goal of the season with 5:20 to play.

Martin Lapointe and Brian Rolston scored for Boston, which is 0-2-0-0 on a six-game road trip.

San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau is unable to score past Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin in the first period Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Teemu Selanne snapped a tie 65 seconds into the third period as the San Jose Sharks held on for their first win of the season, 4-3 over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Selanne received a pass from defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson and fired a slap shot from the left point that bounced up and past goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin for a 3-2 lead. It was the first goal of the season for Selanne, who has 13 in 19 career games against the Lightning.

After Tampa Bay pulled Khabibulin for an extra attacker, Vincent Damphousse took a pass from Owen Nolan and flipped the puck into the empty net from center ice with 80 seconds.

Damphousse's second goal of the season proved to be the difference as the Lightning scored off the ensuing faceoff. Fredrik Modin took a pass from Vaclav Prospal and skated through the slot, where he got goalie Evgeni Nabokov to drop to the ice. Modin pulled the puck to his backhand and easily tucked it inisde the right goalpost for his first of the season.

Nabokov made 24 saves as San Jose improved to 1-0-1-1 on its season-opening four-game homestand.

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin (35) blocks a shot by San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau as Lightning defenseman Jassen Cullimore (5) watches in the first period Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Minnesota Wild goalie Dwayne Roloson blocks a shot as San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau, left, watches in the second period Saturday, Oct. 6, 2001, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Although it is only their regular-season opener, the Minnesota Wild do not appear to have any surprises in their second NHL campaign.

Dwayne Roloson turned away 36 shots for his third career shutout as the defensive-minded Wild battled to a 0-0 tie with the San Jose Sharks.

Roloson, who spent the entire 2000-01 campaign with Worcester of the American Hockey League, made 25 saves over the first two periods, when Minnesota managed just 10 shots.

The 32-year-old recorded his first NHL shutout since February 28, 1999, when he made 15 saves to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-0 blanking of the Vancouver Canucks.

The Wild, who did not have a player score more than 18 goals in their inaugural season, went 0-for-5 on the power play in the third scoreless tie in the franchise's brief history.

Calder Trophy winner Evgeni Nabokov made 19 saves in his eighth career shutout for winless San Jose.

Patrick registered one shot on goal.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA -- The Detroit Red Wings added a trio of big names in the offseason, but it was a holdover who paid dividends on opening night.

Brendan Shanahan scored his second shorthanded goal of the game 1:55 into overtime to complete the first hat trick of the NHL season as the Red Wings pulled out a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks.

Detroit general manager Ken Holland bolstered a veteran lineup by signing free agents Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille and acquiring six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek from the Buffalo Sabres. But opening night belonged to Shanahan, who scored in each of the final three periods.

The Sharks went on their eighth power play 34 seconds into overtime after Sergei Fedorov was penalized for cross-checking. But goaltender Evgeni Nabokov's clearing attempt caromed off the left boards to Shanahan, who deked the Calder Trophy winner before sliding the puck around his right skate to give the Red Wings their third straight win on opening night. It capped Shanahan's 14th career hat trick.

Hasek was solid for most of his Detroit debut and the Red Wings gave him a 3-1 lead on third-period goals by Shanahan and Hull. But a blunder by Hasek triggered San Jose's comeback.

After wandering into the right corner, Hasek had barely set himself in the crease when Stephane Matteau banged in a centering pass from Vincent Damphousse with 8:18 left.

Less than four minutes later, Todd Harvey got the puck off a faceoff, faked a pass to the point and was able to drift to the left dot, where he ripped a slap shot past Hasek.

Scott Thornton had the other goal for the Sharks, who are winless in their last five home games against the Red Wings (0-3-1-1). San Jose has won just two of 10 season openers.