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Wednesday, Nov. 1 10:30pm ET
Nabokov stops 24 shots for Sharks | |||||
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Jeff Friesen's offensive slump ended exactly when the San Jose Sharks needed some scoring. Friesen's fast-break goal with 42.1 seconds left gave the Sharks a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. "When you're not scoring, you're not seeing a lot of net," said Friesen, the Sharks' first-line left wing, who hadn't scored a goal in four games. "I just tried to shoot as hard as I could and get it somewhere near the net." Friesen also had a crucial assist as the Sharks (7-2-1-0) stretched their unbeaten streak to six games. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 24 shots and improved to 6-1-1 since taking over for the injured Steve Shields two weeks ago. After 19 minutes of tight checking in the third period, the Sharks broke quickly out of their own zone. Vincent Damphousse made a long pass to Todd Harvey, who hit Friesen near the blue line. Friesen angled toward the net and sent his third goal of the season over Penguins goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin's shoulder. It was the 25th career game-winning goal for Friesen, who celebrated by repeatedly banging on the glass behind the Penguins' net as the sellout crowd roared. "We got stronger as the game went on," Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said. "We got a break to win it, and (Friesen) scored a great goal." Roman Simicek and Alexei Kovalev scored for Pittsburgh, with Alexander Korolyuk and Patrick Marleau replying for San Jose. San Jose's penalty-killers, ranked first in the NHL entering the game, allowed both of the Penguins' goals on power plays. Aubin stopped 30 shots as the Penguins rebounded from the worst loss in franchise history with a solid defensive effort but another defeat. New Jersey got a 9-0 victory on Saturday over Pittsburgh, which played the first of three road games in four nights. "They came at a bad angle, and it was a great goal," Aubin said. "He put it in a perfect place." Nabokov was strong, particularly against Jagr's high-scoring top line. The rookie even stood his ground and made a spectacular save when Jagr barreled into him on a breakaway in the second period. "He stopped me many times, but so have a lot of guys," Jagr said. "We had a lot of chances but didn't convert." In the second period, Damphousse extended his scoring streak to eight games by fighting off Josef Beranek's check behind the net and feeding Korolyuk, who tapped the puck home for his first goal of the year. The Sharks have been disappointed in Korolyuk, who had just one assist in his first nine games. Marleau's goal, his sixth of the season, came on a perfect feed from Friesen late in the second period. Marleau, the former second overall draft pick whose improved play has been a pleasant surprise for the Sharks, extended his goal-scoring streak to four games and his points streak to six. Kovalev tied it 3½ minutes later when he took a cross-ice pass from Jaromir Jagr above the left circle and wired a shot into the top corner past Nabokov, who was screened. Pittsburgh got a penalty shot just 40 seconds into the game when a Sharks defenseman knocked the net off its moorings while trying to chase down Martin Straka on a breakaway. But Nabokov easily blocked Straka's low wrist shot with his right pad. San Jose lost top defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson just seven minutes into the game when he collided with Jagr and limped into the dressing room. The Sharks said Ragnarsson, who led the team with a plus-9 rating, suffered a knee injury. "He hit a 250-pound guy," Jagr shrugged. "But it was my mistake. I should have been more careful and not have gotten myself in that situation. Nothing happened to me, though." The Sharks said more information on Ragnarsson's condition will be available Thursday. Ragnarsson and Jagr ran into each other near San Jose's blue line just seven minutes into the game, and their knees appeared to collide. Jagr skated away, but Ragnarsson limped to the bench. He kicked the bench gate in frustration and was taken to the locker room. Ragnarsson teams with Mike Rathje to form the Sharks' top defensive pairing. After scoring just three goals in 63 games last season, Ragnarsson leads the Sharks' blueliners with two goals and five points in 10 games this season. Game notesKovalev's goal was his ninth in 17 career games against the Sharks. ... Straka's penalty shot was just the fourth in the NHL this year. ... Not everybody is happy about the pending $47 million sale of naming rights to San Jose Arena. When the Compaq logo was displayed on the video board during the second period, it received boos. The Houston-based computer manufacturer has a tentative agreement to change the building's name to Compaq Center at San Jose. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Pittsburgh Clubhouse San Jose Clubhouse RECAPS NY Rangers 6 Tampa Bay 1
San Jose 3 AUDIO/VIDEO   Jeff Friesen scores the game-winning goal.avi: 729 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Evgeni Nabokov stuffs the Martin Straka penalty shot.avi: 588 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Roman Simicek fires the shot past Evgeni Nabokov.avi: 588 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Alexei Kovalev scores on the nice slap shot.avi: 473 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||