Sharks Move Into First With Win

Nils Ekman had two goals and an assist, and Patrick Marleau scored his sixth goal in six games during a dominant first period in the Sharks’ 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night at San Jose.

Marco Sturm had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Cheechoo added an empty-net goal as the Sharks stretched their franchise-record home unbeaten streak to 11 games. San Jose also took over first place in the Pacific Division with its fourth victory in five games.

Evgeni Nabokov made 19 saves for San Jose, which hasn’t lost in regulation at the Shark Tank since dropping a 4-3 decision to Colorado on Nov. 11.

The Sharks took a 3-0 lead in the first period, then held off a Nashville rally in the final minutes before Ekman secured the win with a short-handed goal with three minutes to play.

Carolina 2, Buffalo 1 -- Ron Francis tied for fourth on the all-time points list with a goal for the Hurricanes at Raleigh, N.C.

Francis’ goal gave him 1,771 points to tie Marcel Dionne on the scoring list.

Minnesota 2, Calgary 2 -- Richard Park scored on a penalty shot in the third period to lift the Wild into a tie at Calgary, Canada.

New York Rangers 3, Phoenix 2 -- Tom Poti scored 1:00 into overtime, capping a late comeback as the Rangers kept Phoenix winless in its new arena at Glendale, Ariz.

Mark Messier and Eric Lindros had two assists each, helping the Rangers to their first win in Arizona since Nov. 26, 1996, the Coyotes’ first season after leaving Winnipeg.

Vancouver 3, Colorado 2 -- Mike Keane scored with 4:35 left, helping Dan Cloutier and the Canucks win at Denver.

Cloutier had 34 saves for Northwest Division-leading Vancouver, which rallied from a 2-0 deficit.

Dallas 2, Philadelphia 2 -- Pierre Turgeon scored a power-play goal with 16:42 left in regulation as the Stars rallied from a two-goal deficit at Dallas.

It was Flyer Coach Ken Hitchcock’s first game in Dallas since he was fired by the Stars on Jan. 25, 2002. The Stars won the Stanley Cup with Hitchcock behind the bench in 1999.

Montreal 2, Atlanta 1 -- Jose Theodore made 28 saves for the Canadiens at Montreal.

Theodore has regained the form that made him the NHL most valuable player two seasons ago as his 2.23 goals-against average and .922 save percentage are better than his career averages.

Toronto 4, Florida 4 -- Owen Nolan scored two third-period goals to help the Maple Leafs rally for a tie at Sunrise, Fla.

Pittsburgh 1, Chicago 0 -- Sebastien Caron stopped 30 shots in his first shutout in nearly a year, and Tomas Surovy scored the only goal at Pittsburgh.

St. Louis 3, Columbus 2 -- Ryan Johnson scored the game-winner with 3:44 left at Columbus, Ohio.

Blues goaltender Chris Osgood was injured early in the game after being struck in the leg by a puck. Osgood was helped off and replaced by Brent Johnson, who finished with 22 saves.

Boston 3, Washington 1 -- Hal Gill scored his first goal in nearly 11 months, and Felix Potvin made 28 saves for his first win in seven weeks at Washington.

New York Islanders 3, New Jersey 1 -- Mark Parrish scored two goals at Uniondale, N.Y., and the Islanders won their fifth in a row.