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Marleau, Nabokov help Sharks blank Ducks

Dec 12, 2008 - 7:29 AM By Ryan Leong PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- A five-day layoff gave the San Jose Sharks an extra jump.

Captain Patrick Marleau recorded a goal and an assist and Evgeni Nabokov made 31 saves Thursday to help the Sharks top the Anaheim Ducks, 2-0, in a battle of Pacific Division rivals.

Nabokov turned aside four shots in the first period, 13 in the second and 14 in the third to notch his first shutout of the season and 41st career. San Jose improved to 6-0-1 since the 2008 Vezina Trophy finalist returned from an injury that kept him sidelined for seven games.

"We knew it was going to be physical hockey," Nabokov said. "We know they play every game on the edge, so we just have to be ready. We talked about it, and coming off the four days' rest, I thought we were ready for the game. We were battling, and it was a playoff-like atmosphere.

"It is always tough to play against them. It was a challenge for us. It was icing on the cake to get the shutout on top of the win. Everybody chipped in and had a good game."

Devin Setoguchi also scored his team-leading 14th goal for the Sharks, who raised their record to 15-0-2 at home and avoided their second losing streak of the season. Their lone two-game skid occurred from November 9-11, when they suffered consecutive losses to the Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes.

"It was a well-played hockey game," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "It was two teams that played hard against one another, but we have to play to a higher level than that emotionally. You've got to play the game hard and win more battles and execute to a higher level. We finally started to do that in the last half of the game."

The Sharks improved to a league-best 23-3-2 overall - the best start in NHL history through 47 games - and are unbeaten in regulation in their last 26 home contests.

Starting in place of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Jonas Hiller made 25 saves for the Ducks, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.

"I think every puck is stoppable, so I'm not happy if I get any goal against," Hiller said. "But I think if we don't score, it's tough to win a hockey game. I think we showed in the third period (that) we're able to play better, but we could have started to play that kind of game from the first minute on."

Marleau opened the scoring by firing a slap shot from the right faceoff circle past Hiller with exactly three minutes left in the first. Coming off a disappointing 19-goal campaign in 2007-08, Marleau has 13 this season.

"(Mike Grier) did a real good job of keeping it in and over to (Marleau), and that shooting mentality of getting it to the net and seeing what happened," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "I don't know if the puck skipped or changed directions. It looked like it moved a little bit, but we'll take it."

Setoguchi grabbed the rebound of Marleau's initial shot in the slot and doubled San Jose's lead midway through the second with a wrister that went over the right shoulder of Hiller.

"I ended up behind the net on my back and I knew the puck was going up top, so I just went to the front of the net," Setoguchi said. "You know the puck is going to go there, so I went there and kind of got a lucky bounce and just turned around and took the shot, and it went in."

Anaheim kept the pressure on San Jose, especially in the third period. But Nabokov was brilliant around the net and also received ample help from his defense.

"When I did not see the puck, the guys blocked the shot," Nabokov said. "Sometimes I saw the puck, sometimes I didn't."

McLellan was glad to see his star netminder post a shutout.

"It's pretty rewarding for him," McLellan said. "He had to make a couple of real good saves in the last minute to maintain it. There's been a few times this year where we hung him out to dry in the last few minutes when he could have put up the goose egg, and it's nice to see him rewarded."

The Ducks were desperate to get on the board, and Carlyle pulled Hiller with two minutes remaining. Corey Perry missed a chance after receiving a cross-crease pass.

Grier just missed an empty net, unleashing a shot went just wide of the right goalpost.

Nabokov made several more brilliant saves before a melee developed with 20 seconds left. San Jose defenseman Rob Blake received a spearing major while teammate Milan Michalek and Anaheim captain Scott Niedermayer were given 10-minute misconducts.

"I'm not sure why the ref wanted to take me out of there," Niedermayer said. "I was just kind of in the middle of the pile and I just wanted to make sure they got what I felt was a spear, which I think they did get."

The most notable scuffle came in the first, when two of the league's most notorious enforcers - George Parros of the Ducks and Jody Shelley of the Sharks - squared off in an intense fight.