The San Jose defenceman Dan Boyle scored in the last minute to give the NHL-leading Sharks a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. The Sharks trailed 3-2 in the third period before Devin Setoguchi's slapshot tied the game and Boyle, who had assisted on the equaliser, completed the rally with a wrist shot that squeezed past the Predators goaltender Dan Ellis. "We didn't play the game we wanted to play," Setoguchi said. "They scored that goal [to take the lead] and maybe that's what we needed to wake us up."
The Predators had gone ahead with a tip-in goal from Patric Hornqvist at 9:29 in the third after his teammate Marcel Goc tied the contest at 2-2 with his first goal of the season in the second period. Nashville had come into the game having won four of their last five games after a poor start to the season. "We deserved better," the Nashville forward Steve Sullivan said. "We think we carried the play for most of the 60 minutes."
San Jose (13-4-2) improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine games and are 6-0-1 on home ice. With 28 points, the Sharks have the best record of any team in the NHL. In other NHL action, the goaltender Tim Thomas stopped 27 shots for the Boston Bruins in a 3-0 win over the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins as Sidney Crosby was held without a point for a fifth consecutive game. Boston won on goals from Matt Hunwick, Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron.
The Penguins are in a three-game slide, and have failed to score in their last two outings. David Perron's hat-trick led the St Louis Blues to a 6-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. St Louis raced out into the lead with four goals in the opening eight minutes. Andy McDonald, Brad Boyes and Erik Johnson got the other St Louis goals. Miikka Kiprusoff recorded his first shutout of the season as the Calgary Flames edged out the Montreal Canadiens 1-0.
Kiprusoff made 25 saves as Jerome Iginla's goal - which extended his scoring streak to four games - stood up for the win. Niklas Backstrom made 37 saves to help the Minnesota Wild to a 5-2 win over the still-struggling Toronto Maple Leafs while the Ottawa Senators topped the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 as Jason Spezza got the decider in a shootout. * With agencies
