Sharks 3, Coyotes 1
Joe Pavelski netted his 20th goal of the season late in the second period and Antti Niemi turned aside 35 shots as the San Jose Sharks clinched the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 3-1 home triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday.
Defenseman Ian White scored for the second time in as many nights, rookie Logan Couture also tallied and Kyle Wellwood notched a pair of assists as Pacific Division champion San Jose (48-25-9) snapped a two-game losing skid.
The victory relegated the Central Division champion Detroit Red Wings to the third seed in the West.
White opened the scoring 7:11 into the second period with his fourth goal of the season. Pavelski then doubled the advantage with a power-play tally with 83 seconds remaining in the session.
Niemi made the modest offense stand up to improve to 9-1-1 in his last 11 contests.
Lauri Korpikoski netted his 19th goal of the season for Phoenix (43-26-13), which fell to 10-3-3 in its last 16 games.
One day after becoming the all-time wins leader in Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets franchise history, Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 34 shots in this one.