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Michalek, Marleau propel Sharks past Red Wings

Jan 18, 2009 - 8:04 AM By Michael Duca PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- After going toe-to-toe with the defending Stanley Cup champions for 2 1/2 periods, the San Jose Sharks delivered the knockout blow with a pair of breakaway goals in the final session.

Milan Michalek and captain Patrick Marleau converted solo rushes in slightly more than a three-minute span, leading the Sharks to a 6-5 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Michalek also set up a pair of tallies and Ryane Clowe collected a career-high four assists for the Sharks (33-6-5), who own the best record in the NHL.

"This was the best regular-season game we've played here," Clowe said. "It was real exciting. We came out strong, but they are the Stanley Cup champs and got the lead. We kept saying on the bench to keep it up. It was funner to play than it was to watch."

Jonathan Cheechoo, All-Star defenseman Dan Boyle and fellow blue-liner Christian Ehrhoff each netted a goal and set up another for San Jose, which improved to 21-1-2 at home this season.

"That was a very good hockey game, I think," Boyle said. "Entertaining for the crowd, high-scoring, it had some hits and we came out on top, which is what we set out to do."

Marian Hossa recorded a goal and two assists while Henrik Zetterberg and defenseman Brian Rafalski notched a tally and an assist apiece for the Red Wings (31-8-6), who squandered an opportunity to take over the top spot in the conference standings.

Trailing, 4-3, the Sharks tied the contest with 65 seconds remaining in the second period, when Cheechoo poked in the rebound of Clowe's shot for a power-play goal.

"It was a see-saw game all night," Marleau said. "It took a full 60 minutes to win this one. It was a great game."

Michalek gave San Jose the lead with 9:42 remaining in the third. After receiving a pass from Boyle and getting ahead of Valtteri Filppula and defenseman Brad Stuart for a breakaway, the Czech put a backhander between the pads of goaltender Chris Osgood for his 11th tally of the season.

Just 3:06 later, Clowe sprang Marleau on another breakaway, and he fired a wrist shot over Osgood's glove for a 6-4 advantage.

"It was a quick neutral-zone play," Marleau said. "Clowe made a great play, I was able to get there alone, and I went stick side because I thought he might have been thinking glove side after Milan's breakaway."

Rafalski halved the deficit with 1:56 to play, beating netminder Evgeni Nabokov with a slap shot from above the left faceoff circle off a drop pass from Zetterberg. But Detroit was unable to net the equalizer despite pulling Osgood for the final 90 seconds.

"They always come hard the first five or 10 minutes of the first period," Rafalski said. "We settled down and played really well in the second period, then we gave up those two goals in the third.

"We had a great opportunity in the beginning of the third period on the power play and could've taken advantage of that, but it was a good game."

Nabokov turned aside 29 shots.