Nash Has NHL-Leading 24th Goal Vs. Sharks

<br>SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Rick Nash scored his NHL-leading 24th goal with 2.1 seconds left in overtime Thursday night to give Columbus its first win ever in San Jose, 3-2 over the Sharks. <br><br>After

Friday, January 9th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Rick Nash scored his NHL-leading 24th goal with 2.1 seconds left in overtime Thursday night to give Columbus its first win ever in San Jose, 3-2 over the Sharks.

After a five-game pointless streak, the No. 1 pick of the 2002 draft also had an assist in the Blue Jackets' first victory in seven games at the Shark Tank.

``Usually we're on the other end of these last-second losses,'' Nash said. ``It's good to turn the tables.''

Moments after Columbus goalie Marc Denis stopped Wayne Primeau on a breakaway, Nash took a drop pass from David Vyborny and fired a hard shot past Evgeni Nabokov for a power-play goal. The Blue Jackets jumped onto the ice to celebrate their third road victory of the season.

``It's frustrating when the team is looking for you to score goals,'' said Nash, who played on a sore left knee after a hard check earlier in the game. ``I knew there wasn't much time left. All I could do was close my eyes and hope for the best.''

In other NHL games, it was: Boston 3, Pittsburgh 1; Carolina 3, the New York Rangers 2; Florida 4, Philadelphia 3 in overtime; the New York Islanders 3, Edmonton 2; Ottawa 7, Toronto 1; Tampa Bay 4, Montreal 1; Nashville 4, Colorado 3 in overtime; Chicago 3, Calgary 1; Dallas 2, Atlanta 1; and Vancouver 3, Los Angeles 1.

Scott Thornton forced overtime by scoring his second goal of the night with 57 seconds left in regulation for the Pacific Division-leading Sharks, whose franchise-record home unbeaten streak ended at 11 games.

Mark Hartigan and Tyler Wright also scored for the Blue Jackets, who won for just the third time in their last 17 games. Columbus moved out of last place in the NHL and improved to 3-13-1-2 on the road.

``We beat a real good team on the road, that's the big thing,'' said interim coach Gerard Gallant, who got his second win in four games since taking over for Doug MacLean. ``We've struggled, but I told them we're 2-2 on this seven-game road trip now, so we've got to feel pretty good about that.''

Denis stopped 34 shots to win for just the second time in his last 11 decisions.

``We didn't respect them the way we should,'' Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. ``We ended up getting exactly what we deserved.''

Bruins 3, Penguins 1

At Boston, Patrice Bergeron scored the tiebreaking goal on a power play with 2:52 remaining to help the Bruins extend their unbeaten streak to four games. Andrew Raycroft made 31 saves.

Hurricanes 3, Rangers 2

At Raleigh, N.C., Josef Vasicek scored twice in Carolina's three-goal second period.

Kevyn Adams also scored for the Hurricanes, who got three goals in a game for the first time since Dec. 9. Ron Francis had an assist, passing Marcel Dionne for fourth place on the NHL's career scoring list with 1,772 points.

Panthers 4, Flyers 3, OT

At Philadelphia, 18-year-old rookie Nathan Horton became the youngest player in NHL history to score on a penalty shot and added another goal for Florida. Valeri Bure scored the winner with 2:04 left in overtime.

Horton was 38 days younger than Toronto's Jack Hamilton, who set the record in 1944, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Islanders 3, Oilers 2

At Uniondale, N.Y., Justin Papineau scored a power-play goal early in the third period and another with 1:18 left to help goaltender Rick DiPietro earn his first win since Dec. 6.

Senators 7, Maple Leafs 1

At Toronto, Wade Redden scored twice and Ottawa got five first-period goals to rout short-handed Toronto and win its sixth straight.

The Senators tied a club record by extending their unbeaten streak to 11.

The Maple Leafs were missing seven of their best players, including Mats Sundin, Ed Belfour, Alexander Mogilny, Owen Nolan and Tomas Kaberle.

Lightning 4, Canadiens 1

At Montreal, All-Star starter Martin St. Louis had two goals and two assists for his first career four-point game. The Canadiens had their five-game unbeaten streak snapped.

Predators 4, Avalanche 3, OT

At Nashville, Tenn., Jason York scored 1:12 into overtime and backup goaltender Chris Mason stopped 31 shots for his first career victory. Paul Kariya, Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic scored for Colorado.

Blackhawks 3, Flames 1

At Chicago, Steve Sullivan broke a tie with a power-play goal 2:34 into the third period. Bryan Berard and Kyle Calder also scored for the Blackhawks, who won for just the fifth time in 29 games (5-16-4-4). Michael Leighton stopped 28 shots.

Stars 2, Thrashers 1

At Dallas, Steve Ott and Scott Young scored for the Stars, who beat Atlanta for the eighth time in eight all-time meetings. All-Star starter Marty Turco made 15 saves. The Thrashers lost their fourth straight.

Canucks 3, Kings 1

At Los Angeles, Magnus Arvedson scored Vancouver's first two goals, doubling his season total, and Daniel Sedin also scored to help the Canucks extend the Kings' winless streak to 10 games.

Los Angeles learned leading scorer Ziggy Palffy, injured Wednesday night, will be out indefinitely because of a dislocated right shoulder that might require season-ending surgery.