Pavelski leads Sharks to 5-2 win over Sabres

Joe Pavelski's second goal of the game broke a tie midway through the third period and Evgeni Nabokov made 38 saves to lead the San Jose Sharks to their fifth straight victory, 5-2 over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Jed Ortmeyer scored twice and Dany Heatley also had a goal for the Sharks, who won for the 16th time in 19 games despite being outshot 40-24.

The credit for the win goes to Nabokov, who weathered an early Buffalo barrage to kept the Sharks in the game and delivered the key saves whenever San Jose needed them. Nabokov has allowed only eight goals in his past seven starts, playing his best hockey of the season with the Olympics just a couple of weeks away.

He helped kill a two-man advantage in the second period with help from a couple of shots that banged off posts. The fans started chanting "Nabby! Nabby!" after one particularly strong glove save against former teammate Craig Rivet in the third period.

Nabokov will likely start in Vancouver for the Russians next month, while Buffalo's Ryan Miller is expected to be the No. 1 U.S. goalie. While Russia and the U.S. are in different groups, the two goalies could meet again in the medal round. Nabokov got the best of this meeting.

Nabokov allowed a first-period goal to Tim Connolly and then a power-play goal to Jason Pominville 18 seconds into the third that tied the game at 2. Pominville's backhander deflected in off Nabokov's skate. The Sharks had killed all 33 power plays over the past 19 games before allowing that goal.

It didn't end up costing them when Pavelski delivered the game-winner 6:41 into the third. Miller made the initial save on Devin Setoguchi's shot, but Pavelski got to the loose puck in the crease and poked it home for his eighth career two-goal game.

Ortmeyer scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to put the game away, including an empty-netter with 1 minute remaining.

The Sabres have lost three games in California in five days, also losing in Anaheim on Tuesday and in a shootout to Los Angeles on Thursday. Buffalo wraps up a season-high seven-game road trip Monday in Vancouver.

Trailing 1-0 after one period, the Sharks were opportunistic in the second. Manny Malhotra got them started with strong forechecking. He stole a puck from Steve Montador and then fed Pavelski for the tying goal early in the second.

Joe Thornton then set up the go-ahead goal when he spun around in the corner and fired a backhand pass right to Heatley's stick in front of the net. Heatley deflected the puck through Miller's legs for his 30th goal, marking the sixth time he has reached that mark.

The Sabres dominated the first period, outshooting the Sharks 14-5 and scoring the only goal off a broken play. After Thornton turned the puck over in the defensive zone, Connolly took a pass from Pominville for his 13th goal, extending his point streak to 15 games.

NOTES: Connolly's streak is tied for fifth longest in Buffalo history. Gilbert Perreault holds the franchise record of 18 in 1971. ... Sharks D Dan Boyle missed his second straight game with an upper body injury. ... Former Sharks players Rivet and Mike Grier got warm ovations when their pictures were shown on the scoreboard in the first period.