NHL: San Jose 3, Minnesota 2 (SO)

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 9 (UPI) -- The San Jose Sharks won their ninth straight game Sunday, topping the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on a shootout goal by Patrick Marleau.

Marleau beat Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom with a high shot in the third round of the shootout.

The winning streak is the longest in the Sharks' history.

Milan Michalek and Tomas Plihal notched the other San Jose goals and Kurtis Foster and Brian Rolston scored for Minnesota, which has dropped four straight games.

Sharks' goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves and Backstrom finished with 24.