Sharks Strike Quickly Against Stars

Patrick Marleau’s first goal in 16 games came with an assist from the boards.

Marleau rebounded a shot off the back wall to break up a tie, and the San Jose Sharks went on to beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2, Tuesday night at San Jose.

“It doesn’t get much better than that,” Marleau said. “It came right to me.”

With nine games to go, San Jose is trying to fend off the charging Kings for the Sharks’ first-ever division title.

After leading the division for most of the season, the Sharks lost to the Kings, 3-0, Saturday, putting the teams into a tie for first place in the Pacific. But San Jose moved back in front by two points Tuesday after the Kings lost at Vancouver, 4-0.

Edmonton’s 3-1 victory over Columbus moved the Oilers ahead of Dallas for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Evegni Nabokov stopped 36 shots for the Sharks, giving him 32 victories and tying the franchise mark that he set last season.

Marleau said the close race and the final season stretch gave the game added intensity.

“It was getting up there, that’s for sure,” he said.

Ed Belfour had 27 saves for the Stars, whose six-game unbeaten streak on the road ended.

“The good news is, at least the playoffs don’t start after tonight,” Star defenseman Darryl Sydor said.

A little more than a minute into the second period, Adam Graves picked up Vincent Damphousse’s shot in front of the crease and knocked the puck over Belfour’s outstretched glove for a 1-0 lead.

The Stars tied the score with three minutes left in the period on Mike Modano’s slap shot from the slot against an unscreened Nabokov. It was Modano’s 34th goal. Jason Arnott, playing in his second game for the Stars since being acquired from New Jersey, earned an assist.

Washington 4, Buffalo 3--Chris Simon scored with 1:58 left to lift the Capitals at Buffalo, N.Y.

Danius Zubrus had a goal and three assists, and Ken Klee and Brendan Witt also scored for the Capitals, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit in a key game between Eastern Conference teams striving to stay in playoff contention.

The Capitals moved into an eighth-place tie with Montreal, three points ahead of the Sabres and New York Rangers. It also improved Washington’s record to 4-3 on its eight-game road trip.

Florida 2, Montreal 1--Marcus Nilson scored a power-play goal with 4:19 left in the third period at Montreal, and Wade Flaherty earned his first NHL victory in 14 months as Florida ended a five-game losing streak.

Flaherty, recalled from the AHL on March 20, made 32 saves in his first start--and appearance--this season for his first victory since Jan. 26, 2001, when he was with the New York Islanders.

Boston 3, Carolina 2--Brian Rolston broke a 27-year-old Boston record with his eighth short-handed goal and the Bruins won their season-best sixth in a row, sending the Hurricanes to their first home defeat since Jan. 21.

The Bruins, who failed to make the playoffs a season ago, have 94 points--four more than Philadelphia for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston already clinched a playoff berth.

Boston has won nine of 10 and six in a row on the road, its best road winning streak since 1997.

Toronto 7, Tampa Bay 2--Tie Domi and Alexander Mogilny had two goals apiece at Toronto, where the Maple Leafs had four goals in a span of 1:25 in the third period.

Robert Reichel’s goal at 5:10 gave Toronto a 4-2 lead in the third period. Dieter Kochan then replaced goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, but it only got worse.

Kochan gave up three goals on his first four shots.

“I felt bad for that kid. They put him in there. It was one of his first games, but that’s the price you pay sometimes in the National Hockey League,” Domi said.

Shane Willis and Vaclav Prospal scored for the Lightning, which has lost two in a row following a seven-game unbeaten streak.

Minnesota 2, St. Louis 1--Antti Laaksonen scored on a penalty shot and Manny Fernandez made 26 saves for Minnesota at St. Louis.

Laaksonen was awarded the penalty shot after he was pulled down by defenseman Bryce Salvador at 2:33 of the third period.

The penalty-shot goal is the second this season for the Wild. The Blues have lost three of four, and are 12-16 in one-goal games.

Edmonton 3, Columbus 1--Anson Carter and Daniel Cleary scored 1:39 apart early in the first period at Edmonton, Canada, and the Oilers extended their season-high winning streak to six.

Jussi Markkanen, getting a rare start as the backup for Tommy Salo, made 27 saves and has given up only 22 goals in 13 games (10 starts) this season.