SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala teamed up in goal to beat the Los Angeles Kings.
Nabokov made 25 shots in relief of the injured Toskala to help the Sharks beat the Kings 3-1 on Saturday.
"I was a little worried when I took over," said Nabokov, who entered the game battling a virus. "But I started to feel more and more confident as the game went on."
The win increased the Sharks' lead over Dallas to five points in the Pacific Division. The Stars lost 3-0 to Detroit on Saturday.
Nabokov started the second period after Toskala left the game with a lower body injury. Toskala faced eight shots in the first period, which ended with San Jose up 2-1.
"I took this shot and then I felt something," Toskala said.
"Some football teams use two quarterbacks," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "I was concerned when we put Nabokov in because he's been struggling so much. But maybe the day off helped him."
Over his last five games, Nabokov had been gone 2-3 and allowed 20 goals.
"He made some unbelievable saves out there," Wilson said. "Those last three minutes were the best defense this team has play all season."
With nearly three minutes left in the game, the Kings pulled goalie Cristobal Huet for a sixth attacker.
But shot after shot failed against Nabokov and the Sharks.
"We failed to finish our opportunities," Kings coach Andy Murray said. "We had ample opportunities to put pucks behind Nabokov in the last two periods but couldn't get that done."
San Jose took the lead for good midway through the opening period when Nils Ekman scored his 18th goal of the season off a cross-crease pass from Kyle McLaren.
"We seem to be finding the puck much faster today," Ekman said. "I was trying to thread through the defense when they pulled back too soon and as I came in late I was open."
Alyn McCauley put the Sharks up 3-1 in the second when he tipped in a pass from Ekman for his 18th of the season.
The Sharks took an early lead on a power-play goal from Niko Dimitrakos a little more than five minutes into the game. Dimitrakos used a screen from Patrick Marleau to get a shot from the top of the blue line through the legs of Huet for his eighth goal of the season.
The Kings tied the game four minutes later when Joe Corvo scored his eighth goal.
Huet had 24 saves.
Notes
- The Sharks called up Jason Marshall from Cleveland of the AHL. They acquired the defenseman several weeks ago in a trade with the Minnesota Wild.
- The start of the game was delayed by 24 minutes by ABC because they were broadcasting the first part of the New Jersey-Philadelphia game.
- Los Angeles' Luc Robitaille played in his 1,000th game for the Kings, becoming the second player in franchise history to reach the plateau. Dave Taylor is the leader with 1,111.
- The Sharks face the Kings three more times before the end of the season.
- The Sharks are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games at home.
AP NEWS
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