Mighty Ducks rally to beat Sharks in overtime

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 14, 2003 | by ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANAHEIM -- Vitaly Vishnevski got the tying goal early in the third period and set up Steve Thomas' second game-winner in two games since joining Anaheim as the Mighty Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 in overtime Thursday night.

Petr Sykora also scored, and Martin Gerber made 27 saves for the Ducks, who broke a sixth-place tie with Minnesota in the Western Conference. Gerber has allowed no more than two goals in any of his last 10 starts.

The Sharks threatened to beat the Ducks on their home rink for the sixth straight time after Adam Graves scored his ninth goal early in the second period and defenseman Rob Davidson got his first NHL goal 43 seconds later.

But Vishnevski got Anaheim even on a short wrist shot that beat Mikka Kiprusoff to the stick side with 15:02 remaining. It was Vishnevski's second goal in four games after going scoreless in his previous 204 contests.

Thomas, who scored twice on two shots against his ex-Chicago teammates following Tuesday's deadline trade to Anaheim, got his seventh goal of the season at 2:04 of overtime. He put in a rebound after Vishnevski poked the puck off the boards past San Jose defenseman Mike Rathje in the neutral zone and was stopped by Kiprusoff.

Graves' goal came on a deflection of Todd Harvey's screened wrist shot from the right circle. Davidson put the Sharks ahead 2-1 with a slap shot from the left point.

Earler Thursday, the Sharks recalled goaltender Vesa Toskala from the Cleveland Barons. He had a 1-1-0 record with a 2.61 goals- against average.

Avalanche 5, Blue Jackets 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Joe Sakic scored his 12th career hat trick, all three goals coming in the first period of Colorado's win over Columbus.

Sakic has one four-goal game and 11 three-goal performances in his 15 years in the NHL.

Colorado has won 19 of its past 25 games.

Patrick Roy had 20 saves as the Avalanche moved to 11-0-1-0 in the series with Columbus. Roy left the crease frequently in the second period, almost as if he were trying to keep the game interesting.

Steve Reinprecht assisted on all of Sakic's goals. Greg de Vries had a goal and an assist, Alex Tanguay had two assists and Milan Hejduk had the other Colorado score.

Canucks 4, Blues 4

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- St.

Louis earned a valuable point with a tie against Vancouver but lost Keith Tkachuk in the process.

Tkachuk, who scored his 30th goal on a power-play deflection 6:30 into the first period, left the game less than six minutes later with a wrist injury after a big open-ice hit from Brad May.

Tkachuk had just passed the puck and still had his head down when May, playing his first game with the Canucks since being reacquired from Phoenix on Tuesday, came flying up the ice and caught him shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the net.

Bruins 4, Devils 3

BOSTON -- Martin Lapointe scored three goals in 5:15 to drive goalie Martin Brodeur from the game, and Boston edged New Jersey.

Lapointe, with just two goals in his other 47 games, got the second hat trick of his 10-year career as part of Boston's four-goal flurry in the second period.

The Bruins improved to 4-1-0-1 after going winless in nine games. The Devils dropped to 1-3-0-1 after going unbeaten in five.

Flyers 5, Hurricanes 3

PHILADELPHIA -- Tony Amonte had a goal and an assist in his Philadelphia debut, and Keith Primeau scored the go-ahead goal 59 seconds into the third period.

The Flyers snapped the Hurricanes' season-high four game winning streak and moved within two points of first-place New Jersey in the Atlantic Division.

Senators 3, Rangers 2 (OT)

OTTAWA -- Wade Redden scored 1:34 into overtime to lift league- leading Ottawa.

Newly acquired forward Bryan Smolinski and Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson combined on a passing play in the Rangers' zone to set up Redden's shot from the slot. It beat goalie Mike Dunham, giving Ottawa its second straight overtime winner.

Canadiens 4, Thrashers 2

ATLANTA -- Richard Zednik had a goal and an assist, and Marcel Hossa added a pair of assists for Montreal against Atlanta.

The Canadiens remained three points behind the New York Islanders in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Flames 4, Maple Leafs 3 (OT)

CALGARY, Alberta -- Chris Clark scored 4:30 into overtime, giving Calgary a comeback win over Toronto.

Clark took a drop pass from Chris Drury and fired a slap shot over the glove of goaltender Trevor Kidd.

Notes

The Columbus, Ohio, parents of a 13-year-old girl who died after being hit in the head with a puck at an NHL game nearly a year ago sued the hospital where she was treated. The suit contends doctors failed to see the extent of Brittanie Cecil's brain damage in time to save her. Brittanie died two days after a puck struck her as she watched the March 16 game in Nationwide Arena between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames. After her death, the NHL required every team to hang netting to prevent injuries from pucks. ... Buffalo Sabres defenseman Dmitri Kalinin could be sidelined up to two weeks because of a separated left shoulder. ... Billionaire B. Thomas Golisano has signed an asset purchase agreement to buy the bankrupt NHL Buffalo Sabres, all but securing the team's future in Buffalo after eight months of uncertainty, a league source said Thursday.