NHL ROUNDUP : For the Sharks and Stars, It Is a Point Well Made

Sergei Makarov scored twice, including the tying goal with 48 seconds to play in regulation, to give the San Jose Sharks a 5-5 tie with the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at Dallas in a game between Western Conference playoff contenders.

The game came to a wild conclusion with four goals in the final five minutes of regulation.

Rookie Todd Harvey also had two goals, the second with 1:32 left in regulation to give Dallas a 5-4 lead. But Makarov scored his eighth goal of the season on a rebound past rookie goalie Mike Torchia.

San Jose’s Jeff Odgers had tied the score, 4-4, 39 seconds after Craig Ludwig had given the Stars a 4-3 third-period lead. The goal was only his eighth in the last six seasons.

The Stars, playing the third game of a season-long six-game home stand that should decide their playoff fate, maintained their hold on the seventh playoff spot in the West with 38 points, three ahead of San Jose and two behind sixth-place Vancouver. San Jose is two points ahead of the Kings.

Dallas Coach Bob Gainey wasn’t happy with the tie.

“We had a chance to open up some space for ourselves (over San Jose) and we failed in our own building,” Gainey said. “We failed against a team that we’re ahead of and a team that’s been struggling on the road.”

Chicago 2, St. Louis 2--The Blackhawks ended their eight-game losing streak but had their winless string extended to 11 games by the Blues, who got two goals from Dave Roberts for a tie at at Chicago.

Sergei Krivokrasov and Gary Suter scored for Chicago, which last got a point in a March 31 tie with Toronto. Starting with a March 29 loss to St. Louis, the Blackhawks are 0-9-2 in their longest winless stretch in 18 years.

The Blues have used a 9-2-2 record since March 26 to gain the Western Conference’s second-best record at 24-12-4.

Montreal 4, Ottawa 1--Turner Stevenson scored two goals at Montreal as the Canadiens extended the Senators’ winless streak to 15 games.

Montreal moved into a tie with the New York Rangers for ninth place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference standings with 39 points. Both teams are only one point behind Buffalo, which is currently in the eighth and final playoff spot.

Boston 4, Buffalo 1--Cam Neely and Adam Oates each had a goal and two assists as the Bruins won at Boston.

Neely, returning after missing five games because of an inflamed hip, scored his 22nd goal on a power play at 3:03 of the second period. He also assisted Oates and Ray Bourque on their 10th goals of the season.

Oates’ goal gave Boston a 1-0 lead 29 seconds into the game when he slipped the puck into the net from the crease.

Detroit 5, Winnipeg 5--Ray Sheppard scored his second goal of the game with 2:55 to play, giving the Red Wings a tie at Detroit.

Sheppard knocked his rebound past former teammate Tim Cheveldae to complete Detroit’s comeback from a 4-1 deficit.