GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- After handling a few shots, San Jose
goalie Vesa Toskala could tell he was on.
"Different days you have different feelings, and today after a
couple of saves I realized I was seeing the puck really well,"
Toskala said about his 30-save effort in a 3-0 victory over the
Phoenix Coyotes on Friday night.
The Sharks moved closer to winning the Pacific Division crown on
the strength of Toskala's first shutout in nearly a year.
Vincent Damphousse had a goal and an assist, and the Sharks
opened a five-point lead over idle Dallas in the division race with
their 40th victory. With 98 points, San Jose is one point shy of
the franchise record set in 2001-02.
Jonathan Cheechoo and Nils Ekman also scored for Sharks, who
have earned 15 points in their last nine games (7-1-1).
"I'm just getting the chances, getting the bounces," said
Cheechoo, who scored his ninth game-winning goal 2:17 into the
first period. "The guys have been finding me wide open, so all I
had to do was shoot the puck a bunch of times."
Toskala's last shutout was March 27, 2003, against Detroit. He
and No. 1 goalie Evgeni Nabokov combined for three against the
Coyotes this season -- Nabokov beat them 5-0 on Nov. 21 and again
Feb. 5.
Sharks coach Ron Wilson said the game was easy to coach -- all he
had to do was remind the team about blowing a 2-0 lead Thursday
night against Calgary before Damphousse scored with seconds left to
give the Sharks the win.
"It could have gone to 2-2 the way we played the last six or
seven minutes of the second period," Wilson said. "So that's all
I had to talk about was last night. Our play was sloppy at the end
of the second period. Third period, we played on the defensive side
of the puck.
"We forced them to have to play through us, which is what you
have to do in a 2-0 game."
Phoenix's Brian Boucher stopped 23 shots -- hardly enough to
break his slump. Boucher hasn't won in 13 starts (0-10-3) since
Feb. 14 and is 3-16-6 since he got the last of his modern-era
record five straight shutouts on Jan. 9.
And nobody in net for Phoenix is getting much scoring support.
Calgary beat the Coyotes 4-0 Wednesday -- the second time this
season they have been blanked in back-to-back games.
Coach Rick Bowness said his team may be able to learn from the
Sharks, who missed the playoffs last season after setting team
records for victories and points the year before.
"They suffered last year what we're suffering right now, but
they did a very good job rebuilding their team, so it can be
done," Bowness said.
Cheechoo scored his 28th goal -- second among second-year players
to Columbus' Rick Nash -- on a power play. Cheechoo swept the
rebound of his first shot past Boucher's glove side after
Damphousse circled behind and flicked the puck in front of the
crease.
Ekman, who had 11 goals in parts of two NHL seasons before the
Sharks acquired him from the New York Rangers last summer, got his
21st goal and second in as many games when he redirected a pass
from Tom Preissing 3:26 into the second.
Damphousse capped the scoring with 4:45 left in the game with
some flashy stickhandling after Phoenix's Matthew Spiller gave up
the puck near the Coyotes blue line.
Coming out of the neutral zone, Damphousse deked right and went
left to get past defenseman Derek Morris, then flicked the puck
underneath the crossbar.
Game notes
Cheechoo has nine goals in nine games. ... The Sharks
(40-20-12-6) have won 40 games for the third time in four years.
... San Jose went 4-1-1 against the Coyotes, outscoring them by a
22-8 total. ... Toskala has allowed two goals or fewer in 21 of 27
appearances. ... Phoenix is 0-6-3-3 since its last home victory --
Feb. 20 vs. Columbus.