Joe Thornton scored the go-ahead goal with 12:19 to play, and the NHL-leading San Jose Sharks shook off a terrible start to earn their ninth straight victory, 3-2 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Captain Patrick Marleau scored and Jeremy Roenick added his second goal in 26 games for the Sharks, 14-0-1 at home. San Jose survived an early deficit and an unusually sluggish performance with a stellar effort from Evgeni Nabokov, who stopped 29 shots while bailing out his teammates several times. Fredrik Modin and Rick Nash scored for the Blue Jackets, who opened a three-game California road trip by losing at the Shark Tank for the 15th time in the franchise's 16 trips. Steve Mason, the NHL's top rookie in November, made 19 saves. Marc-Edouard Vlasic had three assists for the Sharks, who improved the NHL's best record to 22-3-1 during one of the most impressive starts in NHL history. Penguins 5, Hurricanes 2: At Raleigh, North Carolina, Petr Sykora scored two goals, Sidney Crosby had four assists and Pittsburgh spoiled Paul Maurice's first game in his second Carolina coaching stint. Pascal Dupuis scored an early goal and NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin added two assists, even as his NHL lead over Crosby dwindled to two. Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko also scored, and Dany Sabourin made 34 saves. Tuomo Ruutu and Matt Cullen scored for the Hurricanes. Canadiens 6, Rangers 2: At Montreal, Steve Begin and Maxim Lapierre each had a goal and an assist and Montreal celebrated its 99th birthday with a victory over Texas. Red Wings 6, Canucks 5: At Detroit, Jiri Hudler and Dan Cleary each scored twice and Detroit broke a tie with a three-goal outburst early in the third period to beat Vancouver. Capitals 5, Islanders 2: At Washington, Donald Brashear scored his first goal of the season with 13:10 left to snap a tie for Washington. Devils 3, Panthers 2, OT: At Philadelphia, Patrik Elias scored the tying and winning goals to lead New Jersey past Florida. Bruins 3, Lightning 1: At Tampa, Florida, David Krejci scored the tiebreaking short-handed goal in the third period to gibe Northeast Division-leading Boston a win over Tampa Bay. Panthers 2, Sabres 1: At Sunrise, Florida, Craig Anderson made 45 saves, and Gregory Campbell and Keith Ballard scored 35 seconds apart in the second period as Florida beat Buffalo. Predators 3, Avalanche 2: At Nashville, Tennessee, Vernon Fiddler, Shea Weber and David Legwand scored first-period goals, and Pekka Rinne made 19 saves for Nashville. Coyotes 6, Maple Leafs 3: At Glendale, Arizona, Martin Hanzal had his first three-goal game in the NHL, and Steven Reinprecht added a pair of third-period goals as Phoenix downed Toronto.
