Sharks 4, Lightning 2
TAMPA, Fla. -- The San Jose Sharks continued their strong play on the road, pulling out a 4-2 win Tuesday to hand the Tampa Bay Lightning their fourth loss in five games.
San Jose (30-20-5) got third-period goals from left winger Matt Nieto and center Melker Karlsson for the difference in the game.
Tampa Bay (30-22-4) has dropped four of five games now, putting it in a tight pack for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning came into the night tied with Pittsburgh for the eighth and final spot in the playoffs, while San Jose came in third in its division, one point out of second.
The Lightning got a long-awaited goal to open the scoring, with right winger Ryan Callahan getting his sixth goal of the season with 2:09 left in the opening period. Callahan had scored four goals in the opening 13 games of the season, but just one in 41 games before ending an 18-game drought Tuesday night.
San Jose jumped ahead on Joe Pavelski's team-best 26th goal of the season, getting a feed from center Joe Thornton from behind the goal for his team-best 37th assist. That goal came less than five minutes after Sharks right winger Joel Ward tied the game at 1-1 on his 16th goal of the season with 18:17 left in the second.
Lightning center Cedric Paquette tied the game at 2-2 with 11:14 left in the second period, getting his first goal in 21 games.
The Sharks jumped ahead just 1:17 into the third, with forward Patrick Marleau getting ahead down the right side and feeding Nieto, who beat goalie Ben Bishop for his eighth goal of the season and a 3-2 lead. San Jose put the game away on a goal from Karlsson with 1:43 left.
Tampa Bay had lost just twice this season after leading after the opening period. It now has a 22-5 record when it scores first.
NOTES: The Lightning played without C Vladislav Namestnikov, who was hit hard into the boards in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Blues. RW Erik Condra was a healthy scratch, with rookie D Slater Koekkoek making his season debut after being a healthy scratch in the previous two games. Koekkoek, a first-round pick in 2012, had four games in his NHL career before Tuesday's game. ... The Sharks played without D Brendon Dillon (upper body) for a third straight game. RW Mike Brown was a healthy scratch, as was D Mirco Mueller, who has been recalled twice in the past week. ... Tampa Bay's penalty-killing unit has been the NHL's best since Jan. 1, and hasn't allowed a power-play goal in three straight entering Tuesday's game. They stopped 35 of the last 37 power plays against them.