Gameday 13 (Thu, 01 Feb) - Results

Buffalo v Boston 7-4 - One of the hottest players in the NHL lit up TD Garden on Thursday night to snap his team out of a cold spell. Thomas Vanek scored a hat trick and added two assists for his second five-point game of the season to lead the Sabres to a 7-4 win against the Boston Bruins and snap Buffalo's four-game winless streak. Boston lost in regulation for the first time this season. The victory was Buffalo's first in Boston since March 10, 2011. Vanek now has six goals (good for second in the League) and nine assists for 15 points in just six games this season. He has eight career hat tricks overall and 54 points (28 goals) in 46 career games against the Bruins. The Sabres were down 3-1 at one point in the second period and trailed 4-3 early in the third. Considering the Bruins had won their previous 43 games that they held a two-goal lead dating back to April 4, 2011, things looked bleak for the Sabres. However, Buffalo battled back. Cody Hodgson put Buffalo ahead to stay when he scored at 6:54 of the third on a one-timer at the end of a 2-on-1 with Vanek for a 5-4 lead. Vanek then extended the Sabres' lead to 6-4 by scoring his third goal of the night with just 1:31 remaining. Jason Pominville added an empty-net goal. Ryan Miller finished with 38 saves for Buffalo. Tuukka Rask stopped just 25 of 31 shots he faced for the Bruins, who are generally known for their stingy defense. After a scoreless first period, both teams' offense erupted in the second, led by Boston's Brad Marchand and Vanek. The Buffalo forward kicked things off at 1:38 with a one-timer from the left hash mark at the end of a 2-on-1 with Hodgson. The Bruins scored the next three goals, starting with Rich Peverley's first score of the season 5:12 into the second and then goals by Marchand at 7:43 and 10:54. Before the period was over, however, Buffalo had tied the score at 3-3. Vanek cashed in during a 5-on-3 power play and Tyler Ennis tied the game off a feed from Vanek, who was falling down as he made the pass to the front of the net. David Krejci opened the third-period at 1:45 in to give Boston the lead, but Alexander Sulzer scored on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 2:28. Then Vanek went to work setting up Hodgson for the game-winner and scoring the insurance goal. While there was no scoring in the first period, the expected physical fireworks went off just 2:53 into the contest when Boston's Shawn Thornton and Buffalo's John Scott dropped the gloves. Scott, playing in his first Boston-Buffalo showdown, landed a couple of blows before Thornton fell to end the brief bout. Thornton left the game and did not return. There was no update on his condition available after the game.

Washington v Toronto 2-3 - Matt Frattin's case for a full-time roster spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs is getting stronger game by game. Nikolai Kulemin and Frattin scored just over two minutes apart as the Leafs won for the first time at home this season by rallying to beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Thursday night. Kulemin shoveled home a loose puck at 7:40 after Matt Kostka's shot trickled past Michal Neuvirth in the crease. Frattin, who got the OT winner with 1.5 seconds left in Buffalo on Tuesday, gave Toronto its first lead of the night at 9:53 when he finished off a give-and-go with Nazem Kadri. Frattin began the season with the Marlies, the Leafs' AHL affiliate, but was called up last week after Joffrey Lupul was sidelined with a fractured forearm. He has four goals and two assists in the four games he's played. Neuvirth kept the Capitals in the game with 37 saves and helped Washington kill off seven of eight Toronto power plays. Prior to Kulemin's tying goal, Neuvirth had stopped 30 of 31 shots and seemed to be in a groove. The Capitals fell to 1-5-1 this season under new coach Adam Oates. They've lost back-to-back games this week in which they've failed to hold a one-goal lead in the third period. Alex Ovechkin gave Washington a 2-1 lead with the only goal of the second period. Ovechkin's low power-play drive from the left circle beat James Reimer at 2:38 for just his second of the season. It was his first goal at the Air Canada Centre since April 5, 2011. Neuvirth made several keys saves in the second, getting his shoulder and blocker on Dion Phaneuf's hard shot less than five minutes into the period and coming up big once again with the Maple Leafs on their third power play of the period by diving across his body to stop James Van Riemsdyk from in close. Tenacious forechecking by the Capitals' third line led to game's first goal just 1:36 after the opening faceoff. Jason Chimera won a battle for the puck behind Reimer and fed Mike Ribeiro, who was covered near the side of the crease, but Ribeiro spun free from Frattin's check and his pass through the crease found Ward, who was unchecked and rifled home his team-high fourth of the season. The Leafs had five power plays in the first 10:27, but managed only one goal, Van Riemsdyk's fourth of the season at 8:19 with Chimera serving a double minor for interference and unsportsmanlike conduct. Tyler Bozak started the play by wheeling the puck from the side of the net into the slot where Phil Kessel was able to send a low shot on net that came out to Van Riemsdyk alone in front for a put-away. It was one of three shots for the goalless Kessel in the first period; he also deflected a shot that rang off the iron earlier in the period. Kessel finished with six shots on goal, and he was robbed late in the third on a tremendous glove save by Neuvirth. When asked in jest as to what he may have done to elicit his current misfortune, Kessel answered jokingly, "I don't know what I did, I must have done something," before adding - "it will be all right, they will eventually go in." The Leafs missed a chance to go ahead when they had 78 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play, the third time in as many home games this season that they've failed to convert a two-man advantage. Overall, Toronto is just 6 for 39 (15.4 %) with the extra man. Neuvirth made 14 first-period stops, none better than a denial of Kulemin on a backdoor setup from Mikhail Grabovski at 12:30. After allowing a quick goal to start the game and being victimized by Ovechkin, Reimer settled down and ended up with 20 saves.

NY Islanders v New Jersey 5-4 - One look at New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano and it's easy to understand why his team refuses to quit when the going gets tough this season. After missing the season opener to undergo surgery to treat kidney stones, Capuano on Thursday took a stray puck just above his left eye that required him to leave the bench for stitches midway through the third period against the New Jersey Devils. The visitors closed out a successful five-game road trip when forward Brad Boyes scored a power-play goal off a scramble with 2:59 remaining in overtime to give the Islanders a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils before 17,625 at Prudential Center. The Islanders, who never trailed in the game, also received a pair of goals from John Tavares and single scores from Keith Aucoin and Mark Streit. Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov notched his third career victory over the Devils in 10 tries behind a workmanlike 28-save performance. Boyes, who signed a free-agent contract with the Islanders in July, received his chance after Devils goalie Martin Brodeur misplayed the puck behind his net with the Islanders working a 4-on-3 in the extra period. The initial attempt off the stick of Nielsen was blocked by defenseman Bryce Salvador, who was lying flat on the ice in front of the goal line to stop any shot with Brodeur out of position. Salvador even took part of Boyes' stick to the face during the follow-through on the shot, but the Devils captain was fine after the game. Brodeur finished the game with 31 saves. The second goal of the season for Boyes also happened to be the third power-play goal of the game in four opportunities for the Islanders (4-2-1), who finished their five-game trip with a 3-1-1 record. They have a two-day break before the Devils (3-0-3) come to Nassau Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The Islanders' power play, which entered the game tied for fourth in the League, has struck for six goals on its past eight opportunities. Adam Henrique, who was making his season debut after sitting out the opening five games following left thumb surgery, pulled the Devils into a 4-4 tie at 13:50 of the third off a backhand attempt from in tight on Nabokov. David Clarkson earned the lone assist to extend his point-scoring streak to six games for New Jersey. Streit gave the visitors their third lead of the game 11:32 into the third when his shot from the point deflected off the stick of Devils defenseman Adam Larsson and past Brodeur. DeBoer said Larsson, also making his season debut in place of injured Mark Fayne (arm), was solid. The Devils had two golden opportunities to take their first lead of the game prior to Streit's goal. The first came 5:01 into the period when Travis Zajac outmuscled defenseman Matt Carkner in the left circle before cutting into the slot. Nabokov stood his ground and turned away the attempt with his blocker. The second good chance came midway through the third when Clarkson broke in with his team on the power play but had the puck knocked off his stick from behind by a sliding Casey Cizikas. The teams had five combined goals in the second, with the Devils holding the one-goal edge to pull into a 3-3 tie. Tavares had given the Islanders a 3-2 lead with his second of the game off a splendid individual effort down his left wing 7:31 into the second. That goal was matched a little over 10 minutes later when Devils defenseman Henrik Tallinder took a feed from Zajac at the point, skated into the left circle and ripped a shot that beat Nabokov to the long side for his first goal since April 6, 2011. The Devils rallied from a 2-0 deficit when third-line grinders Steve Bernier and Ryan Carter each connected for their first of the season in a span of 3:08. Matt Anderson assisted on Carter's goal 6:21 into the second, marking his first NHL point. The 30-year-old undrafted free-agent signee was playing in his second NHL game. The Islanders just missed taking their third lead of the contest with 1:06 left in the second when Michael Grabner's shorthanded breakaway attempt rang off the right post. The Islanders took a 2-0 lead 2:41 into the second on a power-play goal by Keith Aucoin off a rebound at the left post. Defenseman Travis Hamonic set up Aucoin's fourth of the season after needling a pass through from the right point. The Islanders opened a 1-0 lead 14:31 into the first period on a power-play goal by Tavares. After collecting a pass from Nielsen in the slot, Boyes faked a shot and dished to Tavares, who was standing uncontested low in the right inner circle. The first period was highlighted by a spirited fight 2:35 into the game between New Jersey enforcer Krystofer Barch and former Devils player Eric Boulton.

Pittsburgh v NY Rangers 3-0 - There was no discrepancy about what happened on the ice Thursday night after the Pittsburgh Penguins spent 60 minutes sucking the life out of the New York Rangers in a 3-0 victory at Madison Square Garden. It wasn't a blowout by any means, but from the time Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins ahead 1-0 less than 90 seconds into the game until Simon Despres scored on a breakaway midway through the third period to put the contest to bed, there wasn't much doubt who was the better team. Goaltender Tomas Vokoun made 28 saves for his first shutout with the Penguins, and only a few chances truly tested him. He turned aside a hard blast from defenseman Dan Girardi and another from Marian Gaborik about a minute apart late in the first period, one in which Rangers forwards accounted for three of the team's six shots. The Rangers struck iron with two shots in the third, a rocket from defenseman Marc Staal hit the post, as did a drive from defenseman Anton Stralman that Vokoun was able to catch a small piece of en route. Vokoun signed a two-year deal with the Penguins this offseason to back up starter Marc-Andre Fleury and give Bylsma a reliable option over the course of a season. With a compressed, shortened schedule, that role is even more important, and Vokoun has been terrific in beating the Rangers twice on the road this season. The Rangers were playing their first game without captain Ryan Callahan, who suffered a shoulder injury Tuesday night that will keep him out of the lineup for 10-14 days. After that lackluster first period, Tortorella broke up his top line of Gaborik, Brad Richards and Rick Nash in an attempt to spark an offense that was already hurting for depth before Callahan's injury. The move helped somewhat, the Rangers generated 13 shots in the second period, but many of them were not dangerous and they had a hard time establishing puck possession. The lack of forward depth resulted in two forwards outside of Gaborik, Richards and Nash generating a shot on goal: Derek Stepan had six and Taylor Pyatt had one. All Tortorella would say on his captain's absence was, "We lose a guy that's really good in front of the net," while players didn't want to use it as an excuse for their poor showing. For all the talk of how one-sided this game felt, it was still a one-goal game heading to the third period. The Penguins began the final frame with a power play after the Rangers were called for too many men on the ice late in the second. It was the fourth time this season the Rangers were called for that infraction, and the third time the opposition made them pay with a goal. James Neal's goal (his fifth of the season) was a work of art. He drove to the front of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 26 saves, and placed his stick along the ice. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby fired a slap pass along the ice that Neal, with his back to the net, deflected through his legs, into the air, over Lundqvist's catching glove, off the crossbar and down into the net to make it 2-0. The puck found an opening no bigger than a fist and drained what minimal hope remained in the Rangers. Despres left the Penguins shorthanded with a hooking penalty later in the period, but he redeemed himself seconds after he stepped out of the penalty box. Stralman's shot rang off the post and was cleared down the ice by Craig Adams. Staal chased down the puck in his own zone but tapped it to Pascal Dupuis, who fed it to a streaking Despres for the backhand, breakaway goal to put the game away.

St Louis v Columbus 4-1 - The St. Louis Blues have found two new goal scorers: Vladimir Tarasenko and Barret Jackman. Each scored Thursday as the Blues defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 at Nationwide Arena. For Tarasenko, a rookie forward, it was his fifth goal in seven NHL games. Veteran defenseman Jackman connected for the second straight game after scoring just once in a span of 181 games. Three days off did not slow down St. Louis. The Blues have won four in a row and are 6-1-0 after playing six games over the first nine days. They visit Detroit on Friday; a win will give St. Louis its best start since going 7-1-0 to begin the 1997-98 season. Patrik Berglund and David Backes added goals for St. Louis. Brian Elliott made 24 saves for his third win in four games this season. Derrick Brassard scored a power-play goal for Columbus, which was playing for the third time in four nights and has lost six of seven. The second period ended with multiple fights at 17:59, totaling 52 minutes in penalties, including 10 minutes each for head-butting to St. Louis' Ryan Reaves and Columbus' Jared Boll. The Blues took a 3-0 lead in the first 13:22 of the first period, causing the Blue Jackets to replace starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with Steve Mason. Tarasenko's goal was a highlight-reel effort, he fought off defenseman James Wisniewski to free himself in the slot and scored before falling to his knees. The 21-year-odl Russian has nine points to tie Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cory Conacher for the rookie lead. Mason stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief, with Backes scoring his first of the season into an empty net. Defenseman Tim Erixon, acquired from the New York Rangers in the offseason trade for Rick Nash, made his Columbus debut. He was a minus-1 with four penalty minutes.

Winnipeg v Florida 3-6 - The Florida Panthers found their offense Thursday night, and made their losing streak disappear. The Panthers scored five goals in the third period as they twice overcame deficits to beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 at the BB&T Center and snap their five-game losing streak. Florida had scored a total of five goals during the five-game slide that followed their victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on opening night. Power-play goals 1:17 apart by Peter Mueller and Kovalev erased a 3-2 deficit and gave the Panthers the lead for good before Jonathan Huberdeau and Tomas Kopecky padded the lead. Brian Campbell and Kris Versteeg also scored for the Panthers, while Jose Theodore made 22 saves to improve his career record against Winnipeg to 16-6-2. Tomas Fleischmann had a career-high three assists. With the victory, the Panthers avoided their first six-game losing streak since an 0-7-3 stretch from March 19 to April 8, 2011. Grant Clitsome, Olli Jokinen and Tobias Enstrom scored for the Jets, who lost their second in a row following a three-game winning streak. Ondrej Pavelec, who came into the game with a 7-2-1 career record against Florida, stopped 28 shots. After giving up two power-play goals in Tuesday's 4-3 loss at Montreal, the Jets allowed three against the Panthers. The Panthers were without the services of center Stephen Weiss (groin) for a fourth consecutive game and were also missing captain Ed Jovanovski due to a knee injury. The Jets played without defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. After Winnipeg took a second lead in the third period on Enstrom's goal at 7:38, Mueller tied the game 3-3 at 11:20. Mueller found himself alone in front of the net and put in a rebound of Filip Kuba's wrist shot from the point after Pavelec let the puck slip out of his glove. Mueller, signed as a free agent by the Panthers last summer, has scored in each of the last three games. Kovalev put the Panthers ahead to stay 77 seconds later when he fired a wrist shot from the slot. Pavelec got a piece of the puck but it went between his body and his left arm into the net. Jokinen broke a 1-1 tie at 1:23 of the third period when he one-timed Blake Wheeler's pass from the corner. Jokinen, Florida's captain from 2006-09, has four goals in 10 career games against his former team. Versteeg tied it at 3:35 with his first goal in his second game of the season. Versteeg, who had seven goals in five games against the Jets last season, one-timed Fleischmann's nifty feed into the slot. Enstrom, who came into the game third in the NHL among defensemen with seven assists, made it 3-2 Winnipeg with his first goal of the season. After Evander Kane's cross-ice pass bounced off the boards, Enstrom one-timed a slap shot from just inside the top of the left circle that beat Theodore. The Panthers set a season high for shots in a period in a scoreless first when Pavelec made 16 saves. Florida's previous best was 15 shots in the third period of a 4-1 loss at Ottawa Jan. 21. Campbell opened the scoring at 5:14 of the second with his third of the season, all of them on the power play. With eight seconds left in a 5-on-3 advantage, Campbell fired a slap shot from the top of the right circle past Pavelec with Kopecky providing a screen. Winnipeg, which failed to score during a 45-second 5-of-3 in the first period, tied the game at 16:11 when Clitsome scored his first of the season. After taking a diagonal pass from the boards from Andrew Ladd, Clitsome beat Theodore with a slap shot that went in off the far post. While the Jets come back Friday night with a game at Tampa Bay, the Panthers are set to embark on a four-game road trip that begins Sunday at Buffalo and includes stops in Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Washington. At least now the Panthers can hit the road without the cloud that had been hovering over them since opening night.

Colorado v Calgary 6-3 - On their last stop of a four-game road-trip, the Colorado Avalanche found some gas left in the tank, and a little bit of offense, too. After scoring just one goal in their first three games away from Denver, and playing their second game in as many nights, the Avalanche broke out of their scoring funk and beat the well-rested Calgary Flames 6-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday night. It was Colorado's third game in four nights, all on the road, and the Avalanche's first win away from home this season. The loss was Calgary's first action in five days, the longest stretch of time off between games the Flames will see this season. The Flames fell to 1-3-1 and their three points are tied with Washington (1-5-1) for the fewest in the NHL. Stastny's pair in the final three minutes propelled the Avalanche (3-4-0) to their first win in four games. Just eight seconds into a Mark Giordano penalty, Stastny swept the puck under Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff with 2:40 remaining in regulation to put the Avalanche ahead 4-3. Stastny then provided some insurance by bouncing the puck off Kiprusoff's pad and into the net with 1:11 left. PA Parenteau, with his second of the night, iced the game with an empty-netter. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, in his first start of the season, kept the pressuring Flames at bay earlier in the third. Giguere smothered a Dennis Wideman blast from the point earlier, and with three minutes remaining he blockered away a Mikael Backlund break to keep the game tied, paving the way for Stastny's late-game heroics. Fresh off a four-day break, Calgary wasted little time knocking the rust off with Jiri Hudler's first goal in a Flames' jersey. Picking off an errant pass from Matt Hunwick, Hudler fired the puck over to Matt Stajan for a one-timer. A quick pad denied Stajan, but Giguere kicked the puck right back to Hudler, who found the back of the net from a sharp angle to put Calgary up 1-0 at 7:23. Tim Jackman tried to extend the lead to two with just over three minutes in the period. With his linemates on a change, Jackman challenged Colorado by coming in 1-on-4, and split the defense before being denied by Giguere. The puck worked its way back to Chris Butler at the point, and his wide point shot was deflected off the iron, again by Jackman. That post would prove costly before the period let out. With 47 seconds left in the period, John Mitchell picked off Butler's fanned clearing attempt in the Calgary zone, walked off the boards and snapped the puck past Kiprusoff's blocker to tie the game 1-1. Hudler wasted no time restoring that lead, scoring just 1:49 into the second period. Gaining the blue line, Roman Cervenka fired a cross-ice pass to Stajan, who sent the puck back against the grain to a waiting Hudler on the doorstep. Hudler tapped the puck across the line to make it 2-1. With the assist, Cervenka recorded his first NHL point. Parenteau knotted the game 2-2 less than two minutes later before the Avalanche took their first lead of the game. After outbattling Stajan behind the net, Chuck Kobasew centered the puck to Mitchell, who beat Kiprusoff glove side for his second of the game at 16:58. The Flames tied the game in the final minute of the period. With the puck at the blue line, Wideman faked a slap shot and sailed a pass to Hudler on the goal line. Hudler one-timed the puck to Alex Tanguay alone in the slot, and he beat Giguere over the glove with 17.7 seconds remaining to make it 3-3. Though he finished with three points on the night, Hudler wasn't satisfied with how the game unfolded. The Flames will have a day to regroup before welcoming the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks to Calgary on Saturday. Colorado headed home after the game and will have Friday off before the Edmonton Oilers come to town on Saturday.

Nashville v Los Angeles 2-1 - No overwhelming sense of relief permeated the Nashville Predators locker room. Perhaps the weariness of a monster road trip is draining these games into a blur. But the sublimely succinct coach Barry Trotz nailed it after his team pulled out a 2-1 shootout victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Sergei Kostitsyn scored in the eighth round of the tiebreaker and the Predators prevailed in a game in which they had only 11 shots on goal in regulation. Kostitsyn wristed a shot past Jonathan Quick to give Pekka Rinne his first victory this season, capping a tiebreaker that saw seven of 16 shooters score against two of last season's Vezina Trophy finalists. Rinne withstood a final-minute barrage in regulation, and Quick held off some prime chances by Nashville in the last 90 seconds of overtime. Rinne's exhausted face said it all after he walked into the locker room with his pads and skates on, his face still gleaming with sweat after his first shootout win in four tries this season. He is 1-2-3. Ranked last in the NHL in shots per game, Nashville put one shot on goal in a span of more than 29 minutes from the first period to the second. The Predators did not record a shot in the final 16 minutes of the opening period and bookended the first and third periods with three shots each. The 11 shots were the second-fewest allowed in regulation in Kings history. The Predators did limit L.A. to 22 shots in 65 minutes and blocked 24 more. But the pattern cannot be ignored for Nashville, which managed only 13 shots in a 4-0 loss at St. Louis a week earlier. Dustin Brown tied it 1-1 on his first goal of the season at 13:08 during a 4-on-3 advantage. Drew Doughty ripped a shot high off the glass and the rebound fell in the slot to an untouched Brown. L.A. was previously 1 for 28 on the power play. That would be all the offense Kings managed in 65 minutes despite an active game by Jeff Carter, who directed 12 shots at goal and put five on net. It's a familiar theme for L.A., which could not give Quick enough goal support last season even after coach Darryl Sutter arrived and finished 29th in scoring. The mid-game lull by Nashville came after it grabbed a 1-0 lead just 58 seconds into the game. Brandon Yip roofed a wrist shot off a faceoff after David Legwand got the draw to Gabriel Bourque and made the pass to Yip at the top of the right circle. Trotz paired Shea Weber with Scott Hannan for the first time this season but Hannan watched much of the early going from the penalty box after two tripping and interference calls, and Weber rejoined usual defense partner Roman Josi. The Kings didn't fully seize the opportunity, though, and let the goal-challenged Predators hang around with a 1-1 score going into the third period. L.A.'s best chance in the second came on Justin Williams' redirection of Slava Voynov's shot that slid just left of the goal, while Nashville's Matt Halischuk had a shot at a wide-open net blocked by a sliding Jake Muzzin in the third.

Edmonton v San Jose 2-3 - The streak goes on for the undefeated San Jose Sharks, who won their seventh straight game and second straight shootout Thursday night at HP Pavilion, a 3-2 decision over the Edmonton Oilers. Michal Handzus and Dan Boyle scored the only goals in the shootout, and Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi stopped both shots he faced, first from Sam Gagner then from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Sharks coach Todd McLellan downplayed the importance of being the NHL's only remaining undefeated team, but not the importance of having 14 quick points. Handzus has been money in the bank in shootouts for San Jose. He's now 18 for 34 for his career and 7 for 12 as a Shark. During a shootout win against Anaheim on Tuesday, Handzus scored the decider in the first round against Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller. Handzus again got the Sharks off to a good start in the shootout, this time beating Devan Dubnyk on a high shot to his stick side. In the third round Boyle wristed a shot past Dubnyk, sealing the victory. Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Sharks. Gagner and Taylor Hall had goals for the Oilers, who fell to 4-2-1 but played much better than they did in a 6-3 loss to San Jose 10 days earlier when the Sharks scored six first-period goals. Hall nearly ended it less than a minute into overtime on a breakaway, but Niemi caught his shot from close range. A minute later Hall nearly redirected a shot into the net, but Niemi stopped that one as well. With 1:15 left in overtime, Gagner was penalized for hooking Marc-Edouard Vlasic and the Sharks went on their fifth power play. Boyle had a good scoring chance from the slot, and Couture ripped a one-timer with time running out. But the Sharks, who entered the game with the NHL's top power play, came up empty again. The Sharks killed all three penalties they faced against an Oilers' power play that ranked was No. 2 entering the game. The Sharks have now killed 16 straight penalties. The Oilers trailed 2-1 entering the third but needed just 51 seconds to pull even on Hall's goal, capping a 2-on-1 break with Jordan Eberle. Hall sent a cross-ice pass to Eberle, took the return feed and sent beat Niemi from just left of the crease. The Sharks appeared to move back ahead when Ryane Clowe got past Mark Fistric and beat Dubnyk with a backhander at 4:24. But Clowe was penalized for interfering with Fistric long before he put the puck in the back of the net. The Sharks turned up the heat late in the third, sending puck after puck at Dubnyk, but they couldn't get one past him. For the period, the Sharks outshot the Oilers 13-6. There were no first-period fireworks, or even goals, this time. But after a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Sharks got goals from Couture and Pavelski in a span of 39 seconds midway through the second period to grab a 2-0 lead. Both goals were unassisted, and both came after Oilers turnovers in the neutral zone by defensemen, the first by Ryan Whitney and the second by Ladislav Smid. While being pressured by Sharks forward Scott Gomez, Whitney lost control of the puck, and Couture jumped on the gift with nothing but open ice between him and Dubnyk. He blasted a shot inside the left post at 7:32, putting the Sharks ahead. Seconds later, Pavelski blocked a pass by Smid, grabbed the puck and headed the other way, again with no Oiler in his path. He ripped a shot from the right circle past Dubnyk's glove at 8:11 to make it 2-0. It was his fourth goal in three games. Oilers coach Ralph Krueger then used his timeout, and his team quickly responded. Fistric fired a hard shot from the blue line, and Gagner redirected the puck past Niemi at 10:56 for his third of the season. After playing solid hockey during their first five wins, the Sharks have struggled the past two games but have found a way to win both in shootouts. The Oilers outshot the Sharks 11-7 in a fast-paced first period, but neither team could capitalize on numerous good scoring chances. Gomez, skating on the second line, was stopped by Dubnyk from close range on a rush just over a minute into the game. With Edmonton on its first power play, Sharks forward Martin Havlat was rejected by Dubnyk on a breakaway. Seconds later, Couture hit the left post. Gagner blasted a shot from the low slot late in the period, but Niemi gloved it. Ten different Oilers fired shots at Niemi, but he stopped every one. The Oilers were without captain Shawn Horcoff, who missed the game with a stiff neck, the result of a hard hit he took Wednesday night from the Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan. Edmonton called up forward Anton Lander from Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League, he was in the lineup on the fourth line, and sent down forward Magnus Paajarvi to make room for him on the roster. Boyle returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday night's game against Anaheim. Defenseman Jason Demers, who had been out after fracturing a wrist while playing hockey in Europe during the lockout, was added to the active roster but was a scratch. McLellan shuffled his bottom three lines in the third period and OT on Tuesday against Anaheim, and he opened against Edmonton with most of that new-look lineup. Gomez jumped from the fourth to second line as a wing, skating with Couture and Clowe. Havlat dropped from the second to the third line, replacing TJ Galiardi, who was a scratch. James Sheppard replaced Galiardi in the lineup.