Canadians lead Sharks over Predators

Published 4:00 am Sunday, February 7, 2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators with a nifty play from three Canadian Olympic forwards.

Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton teamed up for a power-play goal at 11:57 of the third period to break a tie in the Sharks’ 4-3 victory Saturday night.

After Predators defenseman Dan Hamhuis was sent to the penalty box for boarding Sharks defenseman Kent Huskins 200 feet from the Nashville goal at 11:32 of the final period, Heatley, Marleau, and Thornton went to work.

From the right boards, Thornton found Marleau on the goal line to the right of the net where he slid a pass through the crease, where Heatley had an easy tap-in for his second power-play goal of the game and 32nd goal of the season.

“Overall, it was kind of a sloppy game by both sides,” Heatley said. “Fortunately we took advantage of a couple of power plays.”

In other games on Saturday:

Kings 4

Red Wings 3

LOS ANGELES — Michal Handzus scored his second goal on a rebound with 2:21 to play, and Los Angeles furiously rallied from a three-goal deficit to set a franchise record with their ninth straight victory.

Canucks 3

Bruins 2

BOSTON — Pavel Demitra tied the game on a tip-in with 4:42 left and scored the only goal of the shootout to help Vancouver hand Boston its 10th straight loss.

Canadiens 5

Penguins 3

MONTREAL — Brian Gionta had two goals and an assist and Jaroslav Halak made 18 saves to win his third straight start, leading the Canadiens to the victory.

Stars 4

Coyotes 0

DALLAS — Marty Turco made 34 saves for his 39th career shutout, rookie Jamie Benn had his first two-goal game, and Dallas snapped road-weary Phoenix’s season-best winning streak at six games.

Maple Leafs 5

Senators 0

TORONTO — Jean-Sebastien Giguere became the first goalie in Toronto history to have shutouts in his first two games with the team, stopping 30 shots to help the Maple Leafs end Ottawa’s team-record winning streak at 11.

Rangers 3

Devils 1

NEW YORK — Henrik Lundqvist made 41 saves, and Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury scored for New York.

Lightning 2

Flames 1

TAMPA, Fla. — Andrej Meszaros scored 1:58 into overtime to give Tampa Bay its seventh victory in 10 games.

Blue Jackets 4

Sabres 0

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Steve Mason stopped 28 shots for his third shutout of the season for Columbus, and Rick Nash and Raffi Torres scored against the NHL’s top penalty-killing team.

Hurricanes 3

Islanders 1

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Justin Peters made 34 saves in his NHL debut, and Jussi Jokinen, Patrick Dwyer and Joni Pitkanen scored for Carolina.

Thrashers 4

Panthers 2

ATLANTA — Atlanta newcomer Niclas Bergfors scored the go-ahead goal with 4:26 left and the Thrashers beat Florida to end a three-game losing streak.

Wild 2

Flyers 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Anton Khudobin made 38 saves in his first NHL start, and Cal Clutterbuck and Owen Nolan scored in Minnesota’s victory over Philadelphia.

Blackhawks 2

Blues 1

ST. LOUIS — Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist, Antti Niemi stopped 34 shots and Chicago snapped a season-high three-game losing streak with a win over St. Louis.

Avalanche 3

Oilers 0

DENVER — Craig Anderson made 20 saves for his sixth shutout of the season, and Wojtek Wolski, Ryan Wilson and Brandon Yip scored in Colorado’s win over Edmonton.

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