Sharks Keep Holdof Their Pacific Lead

Scott Thornton and Stephane Matteau scored two goals apiece as the San Jose Sharks defeated Phoenix, 5-3, on Friday night at San Jose, ending the Coyotes’ five-game unbeaten streak.

Miikka Kiprusoff relieved Evgeni Nabokov with 38 minutes of shutout goaltending as the Sharks, who came in with a two-point lead over the Coyotes in the Pacific Division, avenged a 4-2 loss to Phoenix at home five days earlier.

Struggling center Patrick Marleau had his best game of the season with a goal and two assists for the Sharks.

Todd Harvey and Mike Rathje each had two assists.

Thornton put the Sharks up 4-3 midway through the second period when he stepped out of the penalty box and joined the rush. He scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season on a nice pass from Marleau, who was scoreless in the Sharks’ previous six games.

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Minnesota 2, Nashville 1--Andrew Brunette and Lubomir Sekeras scored power-play goals during a five-minute span in the first period to lead the Wild over the Predators at St. Paul, Minn.

Manny Fernandez made 19 saves for Minnesota, which entered the game 0 for 30 on the power play against Nashville.

Greg Johnson scored for Nashville, which fell to 5-12-2-0 on the road.

Chicago 2, Tampa Bay 0--Jocelyn Thibault stopped 17 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Blackhawks defeated the Lightning at Chicago for their fifth consecutive victory.

Mike Peluso and Tony Amonte scored for the Blackhawks, whose winning streak is their longest since they won six consecutive to close the 1998-99 season.

Nikolai Khabibulin made 27 saves for the Lightning, who lost their fifth consecutive game and were shut out for the second game in a row. Tampa Bay, the NHL’s second-lowest scoring team, has gone 127 minutes 34 seconds without a goal.