Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek and former Boston captain Joe Thornton scored in a 6:16 span of the third period to rally the San Jose Sharks to a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins in a matchup of the NHL's top two teams on Tuesday. The Eastern Conference-leading Bruins, on top of the NHL with 85 points, carried a 2-1 edge into the third period behind two first-period goals by Milan Lucic. Boston had been 26-0-2 when leading after 40 minutes. Marleau tied the game with his 27th goal at 3:32, and Michalek and Thornton struck 2:20 apart. Rob Blake also scored for the West-leading Sharks, who have 81 points. Blue Jackets 3, Avalanche 0: At Columbus, Ohio, Dan LaCosta made 31 saves – including a toe stop on Marek Svatos with seconds remaining – for his first career shutout in his second NHL start. LaCosta, who won his first start Saturday, played again because rookie Steve Mason is out due to mononucleosis and regular backup Wade Dubielewicz had the flu. Andrew Murray, Jason Williams and Fredrik Modin scored third-period goals and Jan Hejda added two assists for Columbus, which swept the season series (4-0) from Colorado for the first time. Kings 4, Islanders 3, SO: At Uniondale, New York, Jack Johnson scored the only goal of the shootout in the final round as Los Angeles beat the New York Islanders. Johnson faked a forehand and got Yann Danis to move before he slipped in a backhander net to give the Kings their fourth straight win. Wayne Simmonds, Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick, who started his eight straight game, turned aside 22 shots. The Islanders got regulation goals from Doug Weight, Tim Jackman and Andy Hilbert. Danis stopped 36 shots for the Islanders, who lost their third straight after a four-game winning streak. Panthers 5, Maple Leafs 4, OT; Thrashers 3, Lightning 1; Red Wings 5, Predators 3; Canucks 6, Blues 4.
