Late Sharks Goal Ties Detroit

Mike Ricci set up Ron Stern's goal at 8:54 of the third period and assisted on Tony Granato's game-tying tally 5½ minutes later as the San Jose Sharks rallied for a 2-2 tie with the Detroit Red Wings.

Rookie goaltender Norm Maracle stopped all 26 shots over the first 40 minutes and made three saves in the third before Stern's third goal cut Detroit's lead to 2-1. Ricci tracked down a loose puck behind the net and centered a backhanded pass in front to a cutting Stern, who one-timed a shot past Maracle.

"Obviously, we'll take the point. We've battled back for a few ties here," Stern said. "The coaches talked about not being satisfied with that. We have to make sure we're working hard and working together from the start."

"Part of Ron Stern's strength in his career is he gives his team an emotional lift, whether it's dropping the gloves or making a hit," Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said.

Ricci made a similar play on the tying goal. He came out from behind the net on the left side and threw the puck in front. Granato spun off a check from Jamie Macoun and slapped a rolling puck into the far side of the net for his fifth goal.

Maracle and Steve Shields each stopped two shots in overtime. San Jose's Murray Craven had the best scoring chance 34 seconds into the extra session when he broke into the Detroit zone on a 2-on-1 with Marco Sturm. But Maracle gloved his wrist shot from the right face-off dot.

Shields finished with 23 saves for San Jose, which is 0-2-1 in its last three and has just one win in its last eight games (1-5-2).

"His greatest strength is his ability to compete, you see it when he practices," Sutter said of Shields.

Detroit received goal from defensemen Aaron Ward and Uwe Krupp in the second of a three-game road trip. The Red Wings moved to 5-1-1 in their last seven contests and are 22-5-2 all-time against the Sharks.

"Steve Shields made some good saves tonight. He's a good goalie," Maracle said. "We just couldn't get anything going in the third to finish them off. I'm used to playing a lot of games but Ozzie's (Chris Osgood) the man right now. I'll just have to adjust to my role."

Ward's second goal staked the Red Wings to a 1-0 lead 6:05 into the game with his third goal, beating Shields with a slap shot from the slot.

Krupp fired a waist-high slapper through a maze of players from the right point 2:48 later for a 2-0 advantage.

"The shot from the point, I don't know how that found its way into the net," said Shields, who lauded Maracle.

"He's good, I played against him my first two years in the minors. He's always been solid. He made a lot of good saves tonight."

Shields kept the score tied, 2-2, with a couple of sparkling stops late in regulation. With 2:50 left, he took Igor Larionov's wrist shot from the slot off his throat protector. And with 75 seconds remaining, Shields came out to rob Nicklas Lidstrom with a sprawling glove stop.

Detroit's Darren McCarty had his nine-game points streak snapped.

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