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GLENDALE, Ariz. Eric Wood Jersey . -- Between a three-day layoff and a quirk in the schedule, the San Jose Sharks were concerned about getting off to a slow start. They did, yet still found a way to pull out a road victory, something that had been hard to come by recently. Patrick Marleau scored in regulation and in the shootout, Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, and the Sharks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 on Friday night. "They had a little more jump and much better execution than we did early in the game, in fact off the opening faceoff," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "But I was pleased with the way our guys stuck with it and fought through it." San Jose had to fly out Friday morning because the new NHL labour agreement requires teams to take three full days off for the holiday break. The Sharks were flat early, and the Coyotes jumped on them, creating numerous good scoring chances in the first period to go up 1-0. The Sharks found their rhythm after they fought back. In regulation, Brent Burns had a goal and an assist, and Joe Thornton had two assists. Once San Jose hit the shootout, Logan Couture and Marleau scored, and Antti Niemi stopped Radim Vrbata and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for the Sharks second win in their past seven road games. "Its been tough for us on the road, so for us to go out and get the two points was nice," Marleau said. The Coyotes were much better in their own end than previously against the Sharks, allowing 28 shots in regulation after giving up 101 combined in a pair of games in San Jose earlier this season. Phoenix pulled out a victory in one of those first two games, but couldnt earn the extra point Friday after struggling in the shootout. David Moss had two goals, and Vrbata scored late in the third period to help Phoenix earn a point in its fourth straight game -- all after regulation. "The last time we got two points on San Jose, we probably didnt deserve those two points," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Tonight, I thought that game was a toss-up. Unfortunately, we didnt get the extra point, but we put the work in to get the two points." With their early travel, the Sharks seemed a step slow in the opening period, and the Coyotes jumped on them, generating several good scoring chances. San Jose gave them an extra one midway through the period, when Sharks forward Matt Nieto flipped an errant pass right to Moss, who whirled around in the slot and beat Niemi. The Sharks nearly scored early in the second period when a shot by Justin Braun hit the left post, bounced off a stick and hit the right post before being cleared away. They did get one through after a Coyotes turnover. Thornton ended up with the stray puck, skated up the middle and found Pavelski, who beat Smith over the glove shoulder from the left circle. The next two goals came quickly. Phoenix answered 68 seconds after Pavelskis goal when Moss fought off Nieto and redirected a shot from David Schlemko past Niemi. San Jose responded on a power play two minutes after that, tying it when Marleau gathered a pass from Tommy Wingels and beat Smith with a wrist shot from between two defenders. The Sharks made a big push to start the third period, and Burns scored midway through, one-timing a feed from Pavelski behind the net that went through Phoenix defenceman Derek Morris legs. Phoenix again had an answer, scoring with just over 6 minutes left on a power play when Mike Ribeiro sent a pass through traffic to Vrbata, who scored his 11th of the season from the left circle to tie it at 3-all. Smith made a big save on Burns after a turnover right in front in overtime, but couldnt stop Couture or Marleau in the shootout. "Theyre such a good team, those first two lines have really good players," Vrbata said. "We played much tighter defensively and didnt give them much. Obviously, (they scored) three goals, but its a good team." NOTES: Friday night was the 10th anniversary of the Coyotes first game at Jobing.com Arena -- a 3-1 loss to Nashville. ... Thornton, the NHL assists leader with 37, has five in his past two games. ... Coyotes captain Shane Doan missed his ninth straight game because of Rocky Mountain Fever. He skated Friday morning, but no timetable has been set for his return. ... Couture has gone seven games without a point, leaving him stuck on 99 goals and 98 assists for his career. Thurman Thomas Jersey . Scott Ranger scored three times including a short-handed goal early in the third quarter that put Calgary ahead for good as the Roughnecks defeated the Colorado Mammoth 15-10 in a National Lacrosse League West Division semifinal. Jim Kelly Bills Jersey . Bruce Arthur, National Post: BC Lions- Since Labour Day theyve been the best team in this league by a mile and I dont think this game will be particularly close.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Surging into and out of the Olympic break, the Minnesota Wild have created a significant cushion between them and their competitors for the two Western Conference wild-card playoff spots. Thats not enough. With five days before they play next, this was still a game they were worried about -- and had to win. Jared Spurgeon and Zach Parise scored in the third period, and the Wild notched their season-high fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Monday night. "You dont want to go a week without getting any points the way things are, even if you have a cushion," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "The cushion to me is nothing ... because its not about where the people are behind you. To me its much more of a race of what you need to get to." The Wild have 75 points, nine ahead of the cut, but they are off until Saturday. Then they will launch their final stretch of 20 games in 37 days. "I dont think we were at our best. I dont think we played at a level we need to play. But it doesnt matter when you look back at the score," Parise said. Kyle Brodziak also scored, rookie Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 shots during his 15th start in a row, and the Wild raised their record at home to 22-7-2 while playing in front of their fans for the first time in 25 days. Captain Mikko Koivu, back from a 17-game absence due to a broken ankle, skated on the second line with Dany Heatley and Charlie Coyle, apart from Parise for the first time. Parise gave the Wild some insurance by camping in the crease and deflecting a shot past Reto Berra with 5:16 remaining for his 21st goal. Just 77 seconds later, Mark Giordano scored to bring the Flames back within a goal. But Kuemper hung on to raise his record to 11-3-2. Kuemper has played so well in place of Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom that the Wild might not need to trade for a goalie before the deadline. "The confidence he has now, you can see that, and its just kind of the edge hes playing with thats good to see," Koivu said. "Hes playing winning hockey right now, so obviously thats a huge part of the team." Mikael Granlund had two assists while pllaying in the NHL for the first time against his brother Markus Granlund, who was called up from the AHL last week by the Flames. Cyrus Kouandjio Jersey. After a scoreless, sluggish and penalty-free first period, the pace picked up in the middle frame. Matt Cooke swooped in behind the net to poke the puck away from Berra. Brodziak crept toward the crease to corral the puck and knocked it in for the games first goal. "If you make a mistake the puck ends up in the net. I feel bad for the team because they played really hard tonight and we had a great chance to win," Berra said. Mike Cammalleri, playing perhaps his last game for the Flames with the NHL trade deadline looming on Wednesday, tied it 1-1 in the second period when Koivus pass ricocheted across the slot to him for an easy tap-in that Kuemper had no chance to stop. "No moral victories. We know theyre playing well, but wed like to win," Cammalleri said. With Coyle screening Berra on a power play, Spurgeon sent a slap shot through traffic for the lead. "We had to kind of grind that one out. I had a feeling this was going to be a difficult game for us right from the start," Yeo said. The Flames, buried in the Western Conference playoff race, could make some moves this week. Cammalleri scored for the first time since Jan. 6. He missed nine games during that stretch because of a concussion. "Cammi, you always know that hes going to show up to work," coach Bob Hartley said. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, as a guest of Wild owner Craig Leipold, watched from a suite. Leipold took him earlier in the day to Target Field, where baseballs Twins play, and TCF Bank Stadium, the football home of the University of Minnesota, for tours of possible outdoor game venues. The NHL put on six this season. Bettman has assured the Wild they will be awarded an outdoor game but hasnt committed to a timeframe. NOTES: Flames RW David Jones hurt his upper body in a collision against the boards. "It doesnt look very good," Hartley said. ... Koivu missed 17 games, plus the Olympics for his native Finland, because of a broken ankle. ... Markus Granlund posted his first NHL assist, on Giordanos goal. ' ' ' |
