ST. LOUIS — Tim Kennedy and the San Jose Sharks were happy to end their long winless streak.
Kennedy scored on a wobbling shot in the third period and Antti Niemi made 25 saves to help the Sharks end a seven-game winless streak with a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
The seven-game streak was the Sharks’ longest since a 10-game run Nov. 5-30, 2005.
Joe Thornton also scored for San Jose, which began the season with a franchise-record seven successive wins.
St. Louis has dropped five consecutive home games for the first time since losing five in a row Dec. 18, 2009, to Jan. 2, 2010. The Blues also had a three-game winning streak halted. They were coming off a perfect road trip with wins in Detroit, Calgary and Vancouver.
Kennedy scored the go-ahead goal at 13:02 on a shot from the left faceoff circle that eluded goalie Jake Allen, who had won the first three starts of his career.
“I don’t know how that quite went through him — but it’s a goal," Kennedy said. “The puck came off the wall and I just fired it. You can’t score if you don’t shoot."
Also on Tuesday:
Canadiens 3
Rangers 1
NEW YORK — Alex Galchenyuk snapped a tie early in the third period and Montreal held on for its fifth consecutive win, beating the New York Rangers.
Lightning 4
Maple Leafs 2
TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos scored his 10th goal and Benoit Pouliot had three assists as Tampa Bay beat Toronto.
Jets 2
Sabres 1
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ondrej Pavelec made 29 saves to help Winnipeg snap a three-game skid with a win over Buffalo.
Senators 3
Islanders 1
OTTAWA — Andre Benoit and Dave Dziurzynski scored their first NHL goals, and Craig Anderson made 37 saves to lead Ottawa over New York.
Predators 4
Red Wings 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Shea Weber scored 44 seconds into overtime to give Nashville a victory against slumping Detroit.
Blackhawks 4
Canucks 3
CHICAGO — Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw scored in a shootout, and Chicago beat Vancouver to match the NHL record for season-opening point streak.
Kings 3
Oilers 1
EDMONTON, Alberta — Jeff Carter scored the go-ahead goal with 49.6 seconds remaining in regulation to lift Los Angeles over Edmonton.
