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Clowe lifts Sharks past Maple Leafs 3-2

Feb 9, 2010 - 4:13 AM TORONTO(AP) -- Jean-Sebastien Giguere lost for the first time as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, even though he thought they were the better team on the ice.

Ryane Clowe scored with less than seven minutes left in the third period, leading the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 victory Monday night.

"I thought we outplayed a pretty good team," Giguere said. "They're obviously one of the better teams in this league, and being as young as we are, being able to outplay them is a really good sign for us."

Dan Boyle and Joe Pavelski also had goals for the Sharks, who sent Giguere to his first loss since being acquired from Anaheim on Jan. 31. Giguere had posted consecutive shutouts in his first two games with San Jose.

Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel scored for the Maple Leafs, who nearly tied it with a flourish in the final minute of regulation.

Evgeni Nabokov made 32 saves for San Jose, which has won eight straight road games.

Toronto struck first when Bozak converted a nifty feed from Kessel to beat Nabokov midway through the first period.

San Jose finally broke through in the second period with goals by Boyle and Pavelski.

"Obviously we weren't very good in the first period, we were in sand, clearly outworked," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "I tried to spark the team somehow by shuffling lines, trying some different things. I'm not even sure that worked until the third period, but we found a way to win. It wasn't our best effort by any means."

Kessel tied it for Toronto with a power-play goal in the final minute of the second period, on a play set up by defenseman Tomas Kaberle, who earned the 400th assist of his career.

Toronto had to scramble to fill out its roster before the game with word that two regular forwards - Christian Hanson and Fredrik Sjostrom - were ill. Nazem Kadri, the Maple Leafs' 19-year-old first-round draft pick, arrived in Toronto on an emergency basis after notching 26 goals and 66 points in 42 games with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.

Kadri, selected seventh overall last spring, made his NHL debut on the first shift of the game, facing off against Joe Thornton. Kadri took a regular shift through the first two periods, heading into the second intermission with more than 10 minutes of NHL ice time under his belt.

"He skated well," Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. "This was a great opportunity for him to see what the NHL is all about. He had a lot of turnovers, and things he can probably get away with in junior hockey, you can't get away with in our league, let alone against a top team in the league."

NOTES: Bobby Orr watched Toronto's pregame morning skate from the top row of the corner gold seats at the Air Canada Centre. The retired star tried to maintain a low profile, though he did pose for a few pictures with admirers ... The Leafs will begin their two-week Olympic break after Friday's game in St. Louis.