Hockey: Balanced Sharks beat Flames 9-1

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Joe Pavelski ended a nine-game goal-scoring drought with the first of three first-period goals for San Jose, and a franchise record seven other Sharks scored goals in a 9-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday night.

Dany Heatley scored twice on a night when nearly every member of the Sharks got on the scoresheet. The eight goal-scorers broke the franchise record of seven last reached in a 9-4 win over Detroit on Jan. 4, 2007.

Manny Malhotra and Scott Nichol also scored in the first for San Jose, which has won 13 of 16 games to tie Chicago for the most points in the NHL.

Jed Ortmeyer, Ryane Clowe, Devin Setoguchi and Rob Blake added goals as the Sharks broke out to a 7-0 lead and blew out their longtime nemesis. Pavelski added three assists, and Ortmeyer and Nichol each had had a goal and two assists to tie career highs for points in a game.

Miikka Kiprusoff, who had won six of his last eight starts against his former team, allowed six goals on 34 shots before being pulled after two periods. Curtis McElhinney gave up three more goals in the third period for the Flames, who allowed their most goals in a game in four years.

Calgary has lost five straight games for the first time since November 2007. Captain Jarome Iginla has not scored a goal in nine games.

Sharks coach Todd McLellan juggled his second and third lines before Saturday's 4-2 victory over Edmonton in hopes of getting production from outside the top line of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Heatley. Malhotra moved up to the second line with Pavelski and Setoguchi, while Clowe dropped to the third line with Nichol and Ortmeyer.

The move has paid immediate dividends with Setoguchi scoring twice to snap a nine-game goal-scoring drought Saturday. All six forwards on those lines scored against the Flames. Before the switch, the Sharks had gone six games with the only goals from forwards coming from the top line.

Pavelski got the rout started when he knocked home the rebound of a shot from the point by Douglas Murray just over 4 minutes in for his first goal since Dec. 30.

Just over 2 minutes later, Malhotra picked up the puck in his zone and rushed up ice past Dion Phaneuf before beating Kiprusoff with a wrist shot. At that point, the Sharks had two goals on 10 shots while Calgary only managed one shot.

That was the way the entire game went as the Sharks had 17 shots in each of the first two periods, while Calgary managed just four in the first and eight in the second.

Evgeni Nabokov was tested a few times in the second but had a relatively easy time earning the win, allowing only a third-period goal to Robyn Regehr that spoiled his chance to earn his 50th NHL shutout.

While this game was won by the production on San Jose's second and third lines, the top trio got involved late in the second when Heatley scored his 28th goal of the season on the power play to make it 5-0. Heatley added his 29th in the third to make it 9-1. That prompted chants of "We want 10! We want 10!" from the crowd.

NOTES: This matched the most lopsided win in this rivalry for the Sharks, who beat the Flames 8-0 on Dec. 4, 2000. ... San Jose's top three scorers have been held without a goal only 10 times in 50 games this season. ... The Flames have allowed 14 goals in the past two games, falling 5-4 in Anaheim on Sunday.