Sharks cash in on L.A. mistake

SAN JOSE – Matt Irwin and Logan Couture made Los Angeles pay for retaliating by scoring power-play goals after Jake Muzzin started a fight as the Sharks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Thursday night.

Couture added a second goal and Brent Burns also scored for the Sharks, who earned just their third regulation win in 21 games. Antti Niemi made 34 saves and was the beneficiary of San Jose's highest scoring game since Jan. 27.

The victory was the 207th for coach Todd McLellan, breaking the franchise record set by Ron Wilson.

Dustin Brown scored twice and Dwight King added a goal for Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick was lifted after allowing three goals on 12 shots.

The game turned midway through the second period after Andrew Desjardins flattened Los Angeles' Colin Fraser with a legal shoulder check behind the Kings' net. Muzzin took exception to the hit and started a fight with Desjardins that led to the key power play when Muzzin got four extra minutes of penalties for instigating a fight while wearing a facemask.

Realignment approved – The NHL map is finally in order with Detroit and Columbus heading east, and Winnipeg moving west.

"We're thrilled, absolutely thrilled," Blue Jackets executive John Davidson said on a telephone conference call shortly after the realignment plan was approved in a vote by the league's board of governors. "We tend to use the (term) common sense around here. This seems to make a lot of common sense."

The new format goes into effect next season, and will feature two eight-team divisions in the Eastern Conference, including the Red Wings and Blue Jackets. The Jets will now be part of a Western Conference that's made up of two seven-team divisions.

It's a plan that Commissioner Gary Bettman called "fan-friendly," because it aligns teams by divisions that are mostly in the same time zones.

The Atlanta Thrashers' relocation to Winnipeg two years ago helped precipitate the need for realignment.

Sabres – Buffalo defenseman Alexander Sulzer will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee.

Ducks 2, Stars 1 (SO) in Dallas – Ryan Getzlaf scored in the third round of the shootout and Jonas Hiller made 33 saves for Anaheim.

Penguins 3, Maple Leafs 1 in Toronto – Pascal Dupuis scored two of Pittsburgh's three goals in the third period, and the Penguins stormed back to beat Toronto for their seventh win in a row.

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