GLENDALE, Ariz. _ Joe Pavelski made sure that the San Jose Sharks didn't allow two points to slip through their fingers, leading his team to victory in a shootout.
Pavelski scored the lone goal in the shootout, clinching a 3-2 win Tuesday after the Sharks coughed up a two-goal lead to the lowly Arizona Coyotes.
The win improved the Sharks record to 3-0 since their bye week, catapulting them past the Los Angeles Kings and into the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with 54 points.
The Sharks opened the scoring on the power play at 5:37 of the first. Joe Thornton recorded his 11th, shooting the puck into an open net from just outside of the crease after Logan Couture fed him with a no-look backhanded pass from the slot.
With the goal, the Sharks power play has now scored in 14 of the team's last 17 games.
Mikkel Boedker made it 2-0 just 34 seconds into the second by ripping a snap shot into the top-left corner off the rush, giving him four points in a three-games point streak. Brent Burns and Joakim Ryan picked up assists on the play.
But the Coyotes battled back and made it a game.
Jordan Martinook got the Coyotes on the board at 16:05 of the middle frame, redirecting a point shot from Jason Demers. Brad Richardson tied it up at 6:10 of the final frame, knocking in the rebound of a Nick Cousins shot after the Coyotes jumped all over the Sharks early in the period.
At the period's 13-minute mark, the Coyotes were leading the Sharks in shot attempts 23-4 in the frame.
Aaron Dell kept the Sharks in the game as the ice tilted in the third, making 15 saves in the period. He finished the game with 30 saves on 32 shots.
