Daren Puppa recorded his second consecutive shutout and John Cullen scored his 15th goal of the season as the streaking Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 1-0 on Sunday.
The victory was the 10th in 12 games for Tampa Bay (32-25-9), which has worked its way into the fifth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It was the sixth consecutive victory at the ThunderDome for the Lightning.Puppa, who missed a start against the New York Rangers on Thursday for the birth of his second child, made 28 saves, including a sprawling stop on Stefan Ustorf from in close in the third period.
After shutting out the Chicago Blackhawks in his last start, Puppa has gone 140 minutes, 26 seconds without allowing a goal. The victory, which improved Puppa to 7-0-1 in his last eight and 23-11-6 overall, also set a Lightning record for wins by a goaltender.
The Capitals (31-27-8), coming off a 6-1 loss against the New York Rangers on Saturday, dropped to 3-2-1 in their last six and missed out on a chance to pass Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference standings.
Cullen ended Washington goaltender Jim Carey's streak of two consecutive shutouts and 176 scoreless minutes at 1:42 of the first period. He pounced on a loose puck in the Capitals zone after a failed clearing attempt by Keith Jones and wristed Tampa Bay's only shot of the first seven minutes past Carey's stick side.
Carey made 17 saves and dropped to 27-19-6.
Lightning center Brian Bradley, who leads the team with 69 points, did not dress because of a bruised knee but is expected back for Wednesday's game at Philadelphia. Tampa Bay's No. 3 scorer, Petr Klima, missed his seventh consecutive game with a shoulder separation.
Sharks 6, Sabres 4
At San Jose, the Sharks scored five times in the third-period, including Ray Sheppard's game-winner that lifted San Jose to a come-from-behind victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Yves Racine tied the game at 8:15 with his first goal as a Shark. At 11:05, Sheppard scored his 28th of the season on a backhand shot from 15 feet.
Jamie Baker added an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left.
The teams combined for six goals in the first 11:05 of the period, the last five coming in a 6:28 stretch.
Buffalo had taken a 3-1 lead just 56 seconds into the third period on a power play. Pat LaFontaine scored his 33rd goal, driving in a shot from short range.
The Sharks retaliated at 4:37 when Owen Nolan picked up a loose puck that squirted out of a crowd on the right side and scored from 10 feet. Then, San Jose's Jeff Friesen tied the game at 5:56 with a shot from point-blank range.
However, Buffalo scored 14 seconds later. Matthew Barnaby drove from the blue line and scored from 25 feet from a severe angle for a 4-3 Sabres lead.
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead when Doug Bodger scored late in the first period from the point.
Buffalo came back with two second-period goals. Darryl Shannon scored from short range after faking down goalie Chris Terreri in a 1-on-1 confrontation. Then Jason Dawe connected from about 50 feet on a power play.
Buffalo has lost four straight games after a stretch in which it went 4-0-1. San Jose broke a two-game losing streak.