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 Center Patrick Marleau scored two goals, including the Sharks'
first power play goal in eight games, to help San Jose emerge with a
4-3 shootout victory in a back-and-forth game with the Columbus Blue
Jackets before 13,851 on Thursday night in Nationwide Arena.
Center Joe Pavelski scored the only goal for either club in the
shootout, lifting the puck over the right pad of Blue Jackets
goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in the second round.
Given a chance to extend the game, Blue Jackets right winger Cam
Atkinson flubbed the puck without getting a shot on goal against
Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock.
"We would have liked to finish it off in regulation, but those guys
(Columbus) didn't quit," Marleau said. "Hopefully, that power play
goal is the one that does it, the one that is our breakthrough.
"We've been waiting on it a long time, but it was big tonight. It
kept us in the game."
Left winger Matt Nieto also scored for the Sharks, who have won four
straight. Goaltender Alex Stalock had 35 saves, including a
brilliant post-to-post move in the waning moments of regulation to
rob Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson.
The Blue Jackets got goals from defenseman James Wisniewski, center
Ryan Johansen and right winger R.J. Umberger.
Bobrovsky finished with 24 saves.
"When we played (San Jose) in their rink before the Olympic break, I
felt like they handled us pretty good," Blue Jackets coach Todd
Richards said. "But tonight we went toe-to-toe.
"You want two points, of course. But one point in a game like this
... you just tip your cap to the other guys because that's a hell of
a team and they played a great game."
Marleau scored his second goal of the game at 5:56 of the third
period, a slap shot from the high slot to give the Sharks their
first lead of the game at 3-2.
It ended a 1-for-25 drought on the man advantage for the Sharks
since the NHL resumed from the Olympic break.
"We said during the second intermission that our power play was
going to get one more chance," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said.
"That was the message: 'It's time to go to work.'"
The Blue Jackets rallied after Marleau's goal, pulling even at 15:02
of the third on Wisniewski's sixth goal of the season.
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But once they got to the overtime, the Sharks were in control.
They're now 10-5 in shootouts this season, including 3-0 when
Stalock is in the net.
The Blue Jackets dropped to 4-2 in shootouts.
Stalock stopped Blue Jackets center Mark Letestu, Johansen and
Atkinson in the shootout.
Bobrovsky stifled Sharks center Logan Couture, but Pavelski made a
nifty move in the second round, switching to his backhand and
lifting it under the crossbar.
"It's a great move," Bobrovsky said. "A great move. Credit to him."
Earlier in the game, the Sharks' power play nearly cost them dearly.
They fell asleep during a five-on-three and let Umberger emerge from
the penalty box and sprint loose for a breakaway short-handed goal
at 3:05 of the second period, givng the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead.
NOTES: After three consecutive healthy scratches, Blue Jackets RW
Cam Atkinson was back in the lineup. Richards initially scratched
Atkinson, the club's third-leading scorer with 18 goals, because he
wanted more physical play. ... Sharks RW Raffi Torres missed his
second straight game because of "general soreness" related to a knee
that was surgically repaired earlier this season. ... Blue Jackets C
Artem Anisimov missed the game after his wife went into labor early
Thursday morning. It is the couple's first child. ... Blue Jackets
RW Blake Comeau was suspended by the NHL for two games for his
boarding penalty on Detroit's Brendan Smith in Tuesday's 4-1
Columbus win. It is the first time Comeau has been punished by NHL
supplemental discipline in his 407-game NHL career.
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