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Saturday, Oct. 14 10:30pm ET
Sturm nets 2 short-handed goals | |||||
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- With a lucky tip and a relentless forecheck, the San Jose Sharks finally wore down the worn-out Boston Bruins. Patrick Marleau's tip-in goal with 10:30 left snapped a 2-2 tie, and Vincent Damphousse got his 1,000th career point as the Sharks beat the Bruins 5-2 Saturday night. Marco Sturm had two short-handed goals -- one into an empty net -- and Niklas Sundstrom and Marcus Ragnarsson each had two assists as San Jose won its second straight. Boston played for the third time in four nights on a five-game road trip, and the Bruins seemed a step behind as San Jose pulled away. The Sharks skated and forechecked aggressively, looking very little like the team that struggled to score goals throughout the preseason and the last two weeks. "We talked about trying to play our game and wear them down, and I think that's what happened," San Jose coach Darryl Sutter said. San Jose went ahead on a goal more suited to pinball than hockey. About one second after a Sharks power play ended, Marleau skated unchecked in front of Boston goalie Andrew Raycroft and redirected Ragnarsson's deflection of Mike Ricci's shot. Marleau thought he got his stick on it, but Ragnarsson thought it deflected off Marleau's skate. Either way, the Sharks took the lead for good. "Those kinds of things will happen when you're playing aggressive hockey, and we did that," said Ragnarsson, a standout stay-at-home defenseman who has three points in three games after scoring just 16 last season. San Jose increased its lead 61 seconds later when Sundstrom made a beautiful cross-ice pass to Scott Thornton, who scored his first goal of the season. Sturm, who got his first short-hander on another exceptional pass by Sundstrom, added an empty-netter with 1:17 to play. "We looked pretty good out there," Sundstrom said. "That's the way we need to play: great defense, great forecheck and good passing." The Sharks scored the game's last four goals to clinch the victory for backup goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who stopped 21 shots in his first start. The Sharks beat Boston for just the second time in their 10 NHL seasons (2-10-3). The Bruins (3-2-1), after beginning the year unbeaten in four straight, lost for the second time in two nights on the West Coast, allowing 10 goals in the process. Raycroft, a 20-year-old rookie playing in just his fifth NHL game, stopped 25 shots but was repeatedly left alone by Boston's defense. "I'm pretty comfortable out there (because) I'm used to playing every day," said Raycroft, who played 61 games in the OHL for Kingston last season. "I relish the fact that I can be an everyday player here in the NHL." Damphousse became the 58th NHL player to score 1,000 points when he assisted on Sturm's short-handed goal in the first period. The point gave Damphousse 368 goals and 632 assists in his 14-year career. Jason Allison gave Boston a 2-1 lead with 6:57 left in the second period by stripping the puck from Brad Stuart and firing it past Nabokov for a short-handed goal. San Jose tied it up 3½ minutes later on Ricci's first goal of the season. Boston's Sergei Samsonov opened the scoring with his third goal of the season. "We had an effort tonight, and they worked hard," Boston coach Pat Burns said. "I don't think the road trip is bothering us. We do it almost every year." Both teams' top goalies were scratches. Steve Shields is out with a sprained right ankle, while Boston's Byron Dafoe strained his left hamstring in Los Angeles on Friday night. San Jose again played without captain Owen Nolan, who ended his contract holdout earlier this week but isn't in game shape. Game notesBoston's backup goalie, Kay Whitmore, was recalled from Providence of the AHL on Saturday. He endured a day of flying from Saint John, Nova Scotia, to San Jose, crossing four time zones and changing planes in three airports. ... Damphousse wasn't awarded the landmark assist until a video review of Sturm's first goal was made between periods. He received a standing ovation from the San Jose Arena crowd when the milestone was announced before the second period began. ... San Jose went 2-1-0 on its season-opening three-game homestand. The Sharks start a five-game road trip on Wednesday at Dallas. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Boston Clubhouse San Jose Clubhouse RECAPS Montreal 5 Chicago 4
San Jose 5 AUDIO/VIDEO   Scott Thorton puts the puck past Andrew Raycroft.avi: 471 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||