Surprising Sharks Get Another Victory

Add Washington to the list of teams finding out that Owen Nolan and the San Jose Sharks are for real.

Nolan and Brad Stuart scored power-play goals and Steve Shields stopped 27 shots as the surprising Sharks defeated the Capitals, 3-2, Saturday night at Washington.

Using their standard formula for success--Nolan, Vincent Damphousse and solid defense--the Sharks improved their record to an NHL-best 6-2-0. Nolan scored off an assist from Damphousse and San Jose held Washington to 13 shots through the first two periods.

“Our true game is defense. We just have to get back and play defense,” Nolan said. “We’re excited about the offense we have this year, but come crunch time in the playoffs, defense is what wins it for you.”

Nolan certainly has provided the offense. His eight goals and 14 points lead the NHL, and he has scored in all eight games. Damphousse leads the league with nine assists, including six on the power play.

Phoenix 2, Boston 1--Keith Tkachuk had a goal and assist and Travis Green scored a goal in his fourth consecutive game as the Coyotes defeated the Bruins at Phoenix.

The Coyotes are off to the best start in franchise history at 4-1-2. On the other hand, the Bruins’ eight-game winless streak to open the season (0-5-3) is their worst since an 0-8-1 start in 1964-65.

Chicago 3, Pittsburgh 3--Jaromir Jagr scored his second goal with 1:31 left in the third period to lift the Penguins to a tie with the winless Blackhawks at Pittsburgh.

Chicago (0-3-3) is closing in on the team record for most games without a win to begin a season, which the Blackhawks set in 1953-54 when they started 0-7-1.

Atlanta 4, Tampa Bay 4--Chris Gratton scored with 5:20 left in regulation as the Tampa Bay Lighting completed a three-goal third-period with a tie against at Tampa Bay.

Gratton swatted a loose puck at goalie Damian Rhodes during a scramble. Trailing 4-1 after two periods, the Lightning came back on goals by Vincent Lecavalier, Mike Sillinger and Gratton.

Nashville 3, Dallas 2--Ville Peltonen scored a goal and added an assist and Mike Dunham made 36 saves as the Predators upset the defending champion Stars at Nashville.

The Stars did get two goals from Mike Modano, but forward Jere Lehtinen suffered an ankle injury in the second period and did not return.

Detroit 3, Philadelphia 2--Sergei Fedorov set up two goals as Red Wing Coach Scotty Bowman recorded his 1,100th victory in his team’s win over the Flyers on Saturday night at Detroit.

It was also Bowman’s 1,300th victory overall, including playoffs, in his 27-year career. Only three other coaches have even coached 1,100 NHL games.

With the loss, Philadelphia dropped to 0-5-1, the worst start in team history.

New Jersey 4, New York Islanders 1--Rookie Scott Gomez scored his first NHL goal and set up third-period tallies by Krzysztof Oliwa and Bobby Holik in leading the Devils to a victory over the Islanders at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Devils extended their unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) and handed the Islanders their third consecutive loss.

Montreal 2, Buffalo 1--Brian Savage continued his hot start as the injury-strapped Canadiens defeated the Sabres at Montreal for their second consecutive victory.

Savage, coming off a hat trick in a 5-4 overtime win in Philadelphia on Thursday night, helped keep the Sabres winless at 0-3-2 with his seventh goal of the season.

St. Louis 4, Toronto 2--Roman Turek earned his first victory as a member of the Blues, making 20 saves to key a victory over the Maple Leafs at St. Louis.

Turek had been 0-3-0 since joining the Blues this season in a trade from the Dallas Stars. The Blues had been 0-2-0 at home.

Colorado 3, Ottawa 1--Claude Lemieux and Joe Sakic each had a goal and an assist as the Avalanche improved to 2-0 in its new Pepsi Center. Stephane Yelle added a goal and helped goaltender Patrick Roy earn his 415th victory. Roy trails only Terry Sawchuk (447), Jacque Plante (434) and Tony Esposito (423) for most regular-season victories.

Calgary 4, Vancouver 4--Marc Savard’s first goal of the season capped the Flames’ three-goal third period at Calgary.