Sunday, Jan. 04, 2009

Grier helps Sharks remain perfect at Tank

SAN JOSE -- Mike Grier scored two goals in a game for the first time in nearly two years and the San Jose Sharks beat the New York Islanders 5-3 Saturday night to extend their run of dominance on home ice.

Grier scored in the final minute of the first period and then added a goal midway through the third that made it 4-1 for his first multigoal game since Jan. 4, 2007, against Detroit.

Ryan Clowe opened the scoring with his 16th goal that helped San Jose go on to another victory at the Shark Tank. The Sharks have not lost in regulation in their last 30 regular-season games here, including all 21 this season.

The Islanders, meanwhile, lost their 12th in a row on the road in a game that looked to be as big a mismatch on the ice as it was in the standings for most of the first two periods.

With the victory, the Sharks moved one point ahead of Boston for the top spot in the NHL with 63 points in 38 games. But despite the early season success, San Jose had no players voted to the All-Star starting lineup announced Saturday.

The Islanders remain the league's worst team with just 28 points in 40 games.

For most of the first two periods, the Islanders couldn't keep up with the speedier Sharks as the game was played mostly in New York's end. San Jose broke out to a 3-0 lead with goals by Clowe, Grier and Dan Boyle, while outshooting the Islanders 28-6.

A goal by Richard Park late in the second period helped New York avoid the shutout and the Islanders nearly got back in the game except for a sprawling, stick save by Evgeni Nabokov that robbed Doug Weight later in the period.

That was one of the few times Nabokov was tested, as he made 21 saves in the game. That one highlight generated plenty of cheers and a chant of "Nab-by! Nab-by!" from the appreciative sellout crowd.

Tim Jackman added a short-handed goal in the third period and Thomas Pock scored with 1:03 remaining to cut San Jose's lead to 4-3. But Patrick Marleau iced it with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds, matching his goal total from last season with 19.

The Islanders generated no scoring chances early and had more fights than shots until late in the first period. Early in the period, Tim Jackson got into a scuffle with San Jose's Alexei Semenov, with the two wrestling each other to the ice. Later, New York's Weight got into a more heated fight with Christian Erhoff after the Sharks defender punched Mark Streit.

San Jose managed to find time to score as well as fight, striking first when Clowe knocked home a blind, backhand centering pass from Milan Michalek. Then in the final minute of the period, Grier tucked a wraparound by Joey MacDonald to make it 2-0.

Boyle's wrist shot through a screen by Joe Thornton made it 3-0 midway through the second period and the Sharks coasted from there.

RED WINGS 3, WILD 2 (SO), at St. Paul, Minn. -- Chris Osgood made 33 saves through overtime and then two big ones in the shootout in his first game since Dec. 15 to lead Detroit to a victory over Minnesota. Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone goal in the shootout.

CAPITALS 2, RANGERS 1, at Washington -- Reigning MVP Alex Ovechkin's tiebreaking short-handed goal with a half-minute left in the second period sent Washington past New York, extending the Capitals' winning streak to a season-high six games.

SABRES 4, BRUINS 2, at Boston -- Matt Ellis scored a pair of goals to lead Buffalo past Boston, snapping the Bruins' 10-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss since late October. It was the Bruins' longest winning streak since 1973.

HURRICANES 3, LIGHTNING 2, at Tampa, Fla. -- Joni Pitkanen and Justin Williams each had a goal and an assist, and Carolina rallied from an early two-goal deficit to defeat Tampa Bay.

MAPLE LEAFS 3, SENATORS 1, at Toronto -- Alexei Ponikarovsky's go-ahead goal midway through the third period lifted Toronto over Ottawa.

FLAMES 3, PREDATORS 2, at Nashville, Tenn. -- Todd Bertuzzi broke a 2-2 tie with a goal with 23.4 seconds remaining in the third period to lead Calgary to its fifth consecutive win.

PANTHERS 6, PENGUINS 1, at Pittsburgh -- Nathan Horton scored twice and Florida ended a four-game skid with a win over Pittsburgh that sent the Penguins to their fourth loss in a row.

BLUES 5, BLUE JACKETS 2, at St. Louis -- Keith Tkachuk scored the go-ahead goal against Steve Mason in the second period on one of St. Louis' four power-play goals and B.J. Crombeen had short-handed for the Blues.

OILERS 4, STARS 1, at Edmonton, Alberta -- Dwayne Roloson made 38 saves, and Edmonton started a five-game homestand with a victory over Dallas. Sheldon Souray, Erik Cole, Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano scored for the Oilers.

KINGS 2, FLYERS 1 (SO), at Los Angeles -- Rookie Wayne Simmonds had a power-play goal, Patrick O'Sullivan and Dustin Brown scored in the shootout, and Los Angeles beat Philadelphia.