SAN JOSE, Calif.
[b]Danny Vranes Jersey[/b] . -- Patrick Marleau has had a lot of success against the Edmonton Oilers this season. The Sharks assistant team captain found another way to keep the good times rolling. In the process, he just might have salvaged San Joses hopes of catching Anaheim in the chase for the top spot in the Pacific Division. Marleau scored a tiebreaking goal with 7:29 left in the third period to lift the Sharks to a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night after San Jose had squandered a two-goal lead. "I think (Joe Pavelski) actually kicked it over to me in front," said Marleau after notching his 32nd goal of the season. "It was good. I was just able to get it in the back." It was a much-needed win for the Sharks, who came into their final homestand of the season after falling out of first place in the division following back-to-back losses to Winnipeg and Colorado. San Jose has already locked up a playoff spot, but is trying to avoid a first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks had blown a 3-1 lead and were 0 for 5 on power plays before Marleau rocketed a shot past Edmonton goalie Ben Scrivens after Scrivens had deflected a one-timer by San Joses Brent Burns. Dan Boyle, Andrew Desjardins and Tommy Wingels also scored for the Sharks, who moved within one point of first-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division. "I still think our team looks lethargic," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "Were there but were not really getting it done. Right now were still in a fight, which I think is good for us, to stay focused and have that battling mentality." The Sharks still face an uphill climb. Four of their final five games are against teams in playoff contention. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and two assists for Edmonton, which lost for the fourth time in five meetings between the teams this season. "We knew coming in we couldnt take penalties but for whatever reason, a couple that we probably shouldnt have taken and it comes back to bite us," Nugent-Hopkins said. "I thought we showed a lot of push-back. The way we climbed back in the game was really big for us. We just have to take some momentum from it." This one nearly got away after San Jose built an early lead. Edmonton scored two goals in a 38-second span in the second period to tie the game, then took the lead when Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal of the game 6:16 into the third. After Burns tied it off an assist from Joe Thornton, Marleau sent the crowd at SAP Pavilion home happy with his game-winner. Antti Niemi made 25 saves for San Jose. Taylor Hall scored the other goal for Edmonton. Nugent-Hopkins nearly had a hat trick after being credited with a goal in the second, but it was later awarded to Jordan Eberle. Scrivens set an NHL record for most saves in a regular-season shutout when the two teams played on Jan. 29, but wasnt nearly as sharp this time. Neither was Niemi. Desjardins third goal of the season 3:11 into the first put the Sharks up 1-0. Desjardins scored off a deflection in front of the net after Scrivens stopped a shot by Tyler Kennedy. Hall tied it on a power-play goal for Edmonton after a roughing call against Boyle. Boyle, penalized twice in the first period, made up for it with another point-blank shot in front of the net that made it 2-1. After San Joses power-play unit missed a chance to pad the lead early in the second, Wingels tapped the puck past Scrivens for an even-strength goal that gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead. Edmonton tied it with two goals in 38 seconds. Nugent-Hopkins, who had an assist on Halls goal, scored to cut the gap to 3-2 before Eberles game-tying shot. Nugent-Hopkins was originally credited with the goal after the play was reviewed and upheld, but a scoring change later awarded the shot to Eberle. Nugent-Hopkins put the Oilers ahead when he scored 6:16 into the third before Burns tied it for the Sharks midway through the final period. "Were happy with the two (points), but weve got to tighten up for the post-season," Thornton said. "Weve got five games here to do that." Notes: Halls 26 goals are tied for the team lead. David Perron also has 26. ... Sharks F Raffi Torres sat out his 12th straight game.
[b]Al Tucker Jersey[/b] . Among the teams moves was trading one of the teams two third round picks, no. 83 overall, to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brandon Bollig, a six-foot-two, 223-pound left-winger who had seven goals, seven assists, and 92 penalty minutes in 82 games last season.
[b]Gary Payton Jersey[/b] .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild rattled a 26-year-old rookie goalie on Tuesday night. The way they were clicking, it might not have mattered who was in the goal. Zach Parise scored twice and Josh Harding continued his dominance in goal to lead the Wild to a 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. Flames goalie Reto Berra, who beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime in his NHL debut on Sunday, stopped 13 of 15 shots through two periods, keeping the Flames in the game with a handful of saves on point-blank shots. But the Wild broke through with three goals in the third, including two in a 33-second span, that left Calgary head coach Bob Hartley shaking his head. "The goals that they scored, you could have taped Patrick Roy, (Ed) Belfour and (Martin) Brodeur together and we wouldnt have won that game," Hartley said. "They were so much better than us, they deserved the two points." Parises second goal, in particular, was a product of precision passing by Ryan Suter and Mikko Koivu that left Berra reeling and gave Parise half the net as his target. "You always like getting those on your tape when the goalie is sliding the other way," Parise said. "It was such a nice play by (Koivu and Suter) and I just happened to be the recipient. That was a world-class pass by Mikko. That was a little bit of a gift." Koivu, who posted his first multi-point night of the season with a goal and two assists, helped the Wild recover from a sluggish start after Calgarys Jiri Hudler opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season. Minnesotas captain chipped in a rebound over Berras shoulder to tie the score just 4 minutes after Hudlers goal and the Wild were off and running. "I like the way we responded, getting the quick reply, esspecially who got it for us," Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said.
[b]Sam Perkins Jersey[/b]. "That was a good message to the group that we were going to bounce back." Parise put the Wild ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal at 6:28 of the second period. Suter passed to Parise at the edge of the crease, where he was stonewalled by Berra. But the rebound bounced right back to Parise, who knocked it past the sprawled goaltender. Still, Berra kept the Flames close until the Wild struck twice midway through the third period to break the game open. First, Justin Fontaine gave the Wild a 3-1 lead, carrying the puck from behind the net before firing a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that slipped past Berra. On the ensuing shift, Torrey Mitchell feathered a pass to Zenon Konopka on a 2-on-1 break, and Konopka beat Berra on the short side for his first goal of the year. "For sure I have to watch video about one or two goals," Berra said. "Maybe I should have those, but the other ones were just pretty nice plays." Meanwhile, Harding stopped 24 of 25 shots to win his fifth straight start. He leads the NHL with a 1.10 goals-against average and .950 save percentage and has given up just 12 goals in his last 12 starts. "Its impressive -- thats all you can say. Its really impressive," Yeo said. "What good goaltending allows you to do is, sometimes youre not quite there, but it allows you to find your game, and hes done that for us." NOTES: Harding entered the game with a 6-0-0 record and a 1.06 GAA in home games this season. ... Flames D Chad Billins made his NHL debut and assisted on Hudlers goal. ... Konopkas goal was his first point in 55 career games with the Wild. His last goal came on Dec. 16, 2011, when he played for the Ottawa Senators. ' ' '
