Ducks lose fight with Sharks

Evgeni Nabokov made 31 saves in his first shutout of the season, and captain Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist in the San Jose Sharks’ 10th win in 11 games, 2-0, over the Ducks on Thursday night.

Devin Setoguchi scored his team-high 14th goal for the NHL-leading Sharks, who opened a gaping 13-point advantage atop the Pacific Division standings over the second-place Ducks with Nabokov’s 41st career shutout. It was punctuated by a brilliant kick save on Corey Perry in the final minute.

Jonas Hiller stopped 25 shots for the Ducks, who lost for only the third time in nine games. The longtime rivals’ third meeting of the season ended with a handful of scuffles and major penalties.

The Sharks survived with Nabokov, who has played seven straight games for the Sharks since returning from a three-week injury absence. The Vezina Trophy finalist hasn’t lost in regulation since Oct. 24 at Florida.

After an overtime loss to Edmonton on Saturday that ended the Sharks’ winning streak at nine games, they had four days off before this showdown. San Jose used the rest to beat the Ducks at their own physical game, winning for the 17th time in 20 games with puck possession and disciplined hockey -- and a few well-placed shoves.

The clubs’ long-simmering dislike erupted with five minutes left when Milan Michalek knocked Perry to the ice in response to an attempted open-ice check. Chris Pronger, Chris Kunitz and San Jose’s Joe Pavelski joined in, but only Michalek and Perry got penalties.

Another big shoving match erupted with 20.4 seconds left with many of the same combatants, along with Sharks defenseman Rob Blake, who got a spearing penalty. Michalek and the Ducks’ Scott Niedermayer also received misconduct penalties during the fracas.

The rivals don’t meet again until March 15, when they will play the final three games of their season series in three weeks.