Sharks Suffer Rare Loss, Fall In OT To Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- San Jose coach Todd McLellan doesn't believe in upsets. The NHL is just too good for his Sharks to win every game.

The Sharks, off to a spectacular 25-3-2 start, found that out on Wednesday night when the Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off a 2-1 win. R.J. Umberger converted a 2-on-1 pass from Kristian Huselius at 2:55 of overtime to win it.

"It's funny. When you win some games and you come in to play against teams they expect you to absolutely run over people," McLellan said. "That's not the case. It's a hard league to win in and other teams are prepared for you."

In the second game of a three-game road swing - and with the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings looming on Thursday night - the Sharks fell short of perfection. On Dec. 4 in San Jose, the Sharks were badly outplayed by the Blue Jackets and still escaped with a 3-2 win.

Devin Setoguchi, who gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead early in the third period, figured things had evened out.

"Maybe it's a little bit of karma," he said. "They came into our barn a couple of weeks ago and outplayed us. We were fortunate enough o get the win there. I thought for the most part we were on them. We had chances but their goalie came up big."

In other NHL games Wednesday, it was: New Jersey 5, Buffalo 3; Calgary 3, Minnesota 2 in overtime; the New York Rangers 3, Los Angeles 2 in overtime; and Vancouver 4, Edmonton 2.

Blue Jackets rookie Steve Mason stopped 47 shots - one shy of the franchise record - and helped Columbus win for its fifth straight at home.

"Both goaltenders were good and our guy was great," said Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock, who celebrated his 57th birthday with the win. "To beat teams like that, we're going to need our goaltender to be our best player - and he was."

San Jose (25-3-3) came in with 52 points, surpassing the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for the best start through 30 games in NHL history. Columbus was a game under .500.

Michael Peca scored the tying goal and Mason made several huge stops down the stretch for Columbus.

Then in overtime, after the Sharks had a flurry of shots against Mason, the Blue Jackets broke out on a 2-on-1 with lots of room to skate. Huselius carried the puck up the right wing and sent a pass left to Umberger, who jammed a shot past Evgeni Nabokov.

"It was one of the best feelings of the year, so far," Umberger said after a group hug at mid-ice. "That's about as dramatic as it gets."

The Blue Jackets improved to just 6-7 in one-goal games, with the Sharks falling to 12-4.

"We've been just trying to prove to ourselves that we can win these close games," Peca said. "We're getting sick and tired of giving up third-period goals and losing hockey games." Devils 5, Sabres 3

At Buffalo, N.Y., David Clarkson had a goal and an assist, and five New Jersey players scored in the victory.

Travis Zajac, Zach Parise, Bryce Salvador, and Brian Rolston added goals for New Jersey, which snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the 10th time in 13 games (10-2-1). Scott Clemmensen made 23 saves and earned his ninth win in 11 starts.

Drew Stafford, Patrick Kaleta and Paul Gaustad scored for the Sabres, who lost for the second time in six games. Ryan Miller finished with 25 saves.

Patrik Elias extended his point streak to eight games with two assists, and Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner also helped set up two goals. Flames 3, Wild 2, OT

At St. Paul, Minn., Todd Bertuzzi scored 3:48 into overtime and Calgary spoiled Marian Gaborik's return to the Wild lineup.

Daymond Langkow scored Calgary's first goal and assisted on the winner as the visiting Flames extended Minnesota's losing streak to six games.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 25 saves and beat the Wild for the 20th time in 29 career starts.

Gaborik, who missed 27 games, assisted on Minnesota's first goal and had the tying goal in the third. Rangers 3, Kings 2, OT

At Los Angeles, struggling defenseman Michal Rozsival scored on a penalty shot in the second period and then netted the winner 3:41 into overtime to lift New York.

Rozsival doubled his output for the season and notched his third NHL multigoal game. Rangers captain Chris Drury scored for the second time in two nights after an 11-game drought and added an assist in overtime.

The Rangers, who have won three straight, have 10 victories and two losses in games that went past regulation time.

Patrick O'Sullivan and Dustin Brown scored for the Kings. Canucks 4, Oilers 2

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Daniel Sedin scored twice and Curtis Sanford made 25 saves against Edmonton. Sanford is 5-3 in eight starts since the Canucks lost All-Star Roberto Luongo to a groin strain on Nov. 22.

After a scoreless first period, the Canucks scored three times in the second period. Ryan Kesler added a goal for the Canucks, and Jannik Hansen sealed the win with an empty-netter.

Dustin Penner and Sam Gagner scored for the Oilers.

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