Streaking Sharks Lose on the Road

The Minnesota Wild added another team jockeying for playoff position to its list of recent victims.

The Wild handed the San Jose Sharks their first loss in 11 road games, 3-1, Sunday before an overflow crowd of 18,568 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

They also became the first team in three games to score on the Sharks. Antti Laaksonen beat Steve Shields with a slap shot in the second period, ending the Sharks’ stretch of holding opponents scoreless at a team-record 152 minutes 53 seconds.

The Sharks had not allowed a goal since Chicago’s Steve Sullivan scored short-handed on Feb. 10.

They had not lost on the road since Dec. 23 at Buffalo. They were unbeaten (3-0-2) and had won three in a row while allowing three goals over the All-Star break.

Calgary 4, Phoenix 1--It wasn’t a smashing home debut for Wayne Gretzky as an NHL owner.

Jarome Iginla scored two goals to help the Flames beat Gretzky’s Coyotes in Phoenix for the first time since Dec. 22, 1996. The Coyotes, the only NHL team not to be shut out this season, scored on Keith Tkachuk’s 26th goal at 4:24 of the third period.

Gretzky watched from a suite far above the ice and was not introduced to the crowd.

Nashville 3, Tampa Bay 2--The third-year Predators, who have never made the playoffs, tied the Kings for ninth place in the Western Conference. The Predators and the Kings each have 59 points, four fewer than Edmonton, which holds the eighth and final postseason spot.

Detroit 2, Dallas 1--Tomas Holmstrom scored a power-play goal in the third period at Dallas as the Red Wings extended their unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1). The Red Wings have won five in a row at Reunion Arena.

Ottawa 4, Montreal 0--Patrick Lalime tied a club record with his fifth shutout this season as the Senators extended their winning streak to four games. Lalime stopped 25 shots at Ottawa and tied the Senators’ single-season high for shutouts set by Damian Rhodes in 1997-98.

Carolina 5, Boston 4--Josef Vasicek scored with 2:41 left, breaking a 12-game streak without a point, as the Hurricanes moved within one point of the Bruins for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the home win. Carolina won the season series with the Bruins, 3-1.

Vancouver 3, New York Islanders 2--Murray Baron scored the go-ahead goal, his first in 12 games, 5:07 into the third period at Vancouver.

Around the League

Brett Lindros, 25, a former NHL player and the brother of Eric Lindros, was hospitalized in fair condition after a snowmobile accident in rural Ontario. Police said alcohol was involved in the crash. Lindros was the passenger on a snowmobile operated by 25-year-old Dan Cameron of Toronto when they struck the rocky shoreline on Crane Lake, three hours north of Toronto.