WASHINGTON -- The San Jose Sharks dont have an explanation for their continued success against the Washington Capitals. Coming off a shutout loss at home, theyre just happy to have the two points. Patrick Marleau scored the only goal of the shootout, lifting the Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Capitals on Tuesday night, improving San Jose to 17-1 against Washington in the teams last 18 meetings. "Theres no special ingredient," Marleau said. "I think its just one of those things thats been going our way for a while. Theyre always tight games so it could easily go both ways." Sharks coach Todd McClellan doesnt see a pattern either. "I dont have an explanation. Its always been different circumstances," he said after winning the teams first meeting since Feb. 13, 2012. After losing 1-0 to Boston on Saturday, the Sharks rebounded to take the opener of a three-game road trip. "Its nice to start off the trip the right way," McClellan said. "It was kind of a back and forth affair. They had some momentum (early) but we gained it back." Antti Niemi stopped Eric Fehr, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in the shootout after making 35 saves in regulation and overtime. Marleau tallied after Joe Pavelski missed on San Joses first shot. Ovechkin scored his league-leading 33rd goal at 12:44 of the second period after Tyler Kennedy had tallied for San Jose at 13:30 of the first. Rookie goaltender Philipp Grubauer, making his 12th start in 17 games, made 28 saves for Washington. "I thought the whole team played very well," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "Hard fought game; great pace to it. Obviously, didnt come through in the shootout, but it was a good hockey game." It was the Capitals second straight 2-1 shootout loss and they have lost six of their last eight. "It was a good test for us," Ovechkin said of the Sharks. "A good team. Theyve been together for a long time. I think we had good chances to win the game in regular time, in the third period, but we got the point." The Capitals got their only power play with 1:15 left in regulation when Marleau was called for hooking, but Niemi made a pair of saves on Ovechkin in the final minute and San Jose killed off the remainder of the penalty in overtime. "Nemo was real good," McLellan said. "The power play at the end, he had to make some big saves to give us a chance to get into overtime. He did that." San Jose led 1-0 after a first period in which Washington went over 10 minutes without a shot on goal during one stretch. The Capitals actually had an early 7-1 advantage in shot, but Niemi made several good stops, including a glove save on wrister by Backstrom in the slot during a 3-on-2. "We know we arent going to score on every shift out there, but we are doing the right thing and hopefully it will bounce with us next game," Backstrom said. "It will come if we just keep working. I think it will come." San Jose broke on top at 13:30. Following a Washington turnover, Kennedy deflected a Jason Demers pass by Grubauer from high in the slot for his fourth goal of the season. The Sharks came in having scored an NHL-best 51 first-period goals while allowing the fewest (22). The Capitals controlled play for much of the second period and made it 1-1 at the 12:44 mark. Ovechkin, the NHL goals leader, was held without a shot for the first 32 minutes but his first one found the net. He took a pass from Karl Alzer in the left circle and fired over Niemis shoulder. "We tried to.we were aware of him, but theyve got so many offensive weapons that if you overplay a certain individual somebody else will hurt you," McLellan said. "He still got one. It goes to show what a great release he has, (he) scored from a pretty bad angle, but it was a helluva shot." Ovechkin has six points in his last six games. With San Jose in the Washington zone late in the period, Brad Stuart poked the puck past Grubauer, but the replay showed time had expired. NOTES: San Jose D Matt Irwin returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury. . Washingtons Aaron Volpatti and Mike Brown of the Sharks bloodied each other and the ice during a short, fierce fight midway through the first period. . Washingtons last nine home games have been decided by one goal, with six going to overtime. Brett Favre Super Bowl Jersey . Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night. Tramon Williams Super Bowl Jersey .Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton each homered and had an outfield assist, and the Braves held on for a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night. http://www.officialgreenbaypackerspro.co...packers-jersey/. In the Brewers six games this season, no starter has allowed more than three runs. "We see the guy in front of us do a great job and we want to do even better," Gallardo said after the Brewers beat the Red Sox 4-0 on Sunday, his second straight scoreless start. ZaDarius Smith Super Bowl Jersey . A quick first step to get to the hoop for a layup. A rousing dunk on the break off a high outlet pass saved by teammate Ramon Sessions. Geronimo Allison Super Bowl Jersey . Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.NEWARK, N.J. -- The NHL reduced its penalty against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for signing Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010. The Devils will keep the first-round draft pick they were scheduled to forfeit this year, and the league will reduce the $3 million fine assessed against the team for circumventing the NHL-NHLPA collective bargaining agreement The Devils recently applied to the league for reconsideration and relief from a portion of the original penalty, citing primarily changes in circumstances which, in the clubs view, changed the appropriateness of the sanctions. The NHL did not spell out what changed, but Kovalchuk retired after last season and returned to Russia to play there. Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said the franchises new ownership asked the league to reconsider the penalty, and a hearing was held this year. "Were pleased," said Lamoriello, who said several factors other than Kovalchuks retirement went into the leagues decision, without elaborating. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur felt the original NHL penalty was harsh. "I thought it was a bad judgment by them when they penalized with a first-round pick and all the money," Brodeur said. "I thought they hit our organization preetty hard at the time.dddddddddddd It will be nice for the future to count on an extra No. 1 pick." The league said the Devils will be entitled to the 30th selection overall -- the last pick in the first round -- in the 2014 draft. They will not be permitted to trade or transfer its right to that pick. Kovalchuk, who had been acquired by the Devils in February 2010, became a free agent at the end of that season. New Jersey signed him to a 17-year, $102 million deal but the league ruled what would have been the longest contract in NHL circumvented the salary cap and rejected it. Arbitrator Richard Bloch heard the unions appeal and nullified the deal. The Devils eventually signed the Russian to a 15-year, $100 million contract deal. However, the NHL ruled the original contact tried to get around the salary cap and penalized the three-time Stanley Cup champions. The Devils had already forfeited a third-round draft pick in 2011. The team also had a first-round draft pick taken from them in the ruling handed down by an independent arbiter, but they had the right to defer until 2014. The Devils kept deferring the loss of the first-round pick, which they were due to lose in June. The NHL said it would not comment further on the decision. ' ' '
