Chara passes Chelios for games by defenseman, Islanders lose to Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Zdeno Chara set the record for most NHL games played by a defenseman, and Zach Parise scored his 400th NHL goal for the New York Islanders in a 4-3 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday.

Chara
played his 1,652nd game
to pass Chris Chelios. The 44-year-old played 16:26 and had a five-minute penalty for fighting.
"I would like to start by thanking Chris Chelios, he set such a high standard for many of us," Chara said. "It's been very inspiring and a huge motivation. I want to thank him for that. A tremendous player and a leader. ... I'm very grateful and I'm very lucky to have many, many great teammates, great coaches, and trainers, and support from my wife and children. ... I'm very lucky that I get to still play the game."
James Reimer made 44 saves and did not allow a goal in the shootout for the Sharks (23-22-6), who had lost seven straight (0-3-4). Logan Couture scored the only goal in the tiebreaker.
"At this time of year you've just got to find ways to get points, and tonight we did," San Jose coach Bob Boughner said. "Sometimes I think of the Anaheim [Ducks] game (a 4-3 shootout loss Tuesday) and I think we played better then than we did tonight. But that's the way the game goes. You get a save here or there or you get a bounce here or there, and we stuck with it and battled through even though we weren't at our best."

Brock Nelson scored for a fourth straight game, Mathew Barzal had two assists, and Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves in his eighth straight start for the Islanders (19-20-8).
"It may have been our best game of the year, and we didn't get the two points, but we deserved the two points," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "We can walk away from games like this, and if you play to that level every night you'll get a lot of points."
Nelson gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 14:56 of the first period when he deflected a shot into traffic by Scott Mayfield.
Alexander Barabanov tied it 1-1 at 15:55 on a power play before Jasper Weatherby gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 17:32 with his first goal since Jan. 4.
Parise tied it 2-2 at 12:48 of the second period with a slap shot from the left face-off circle.
"I thought we played a really good game, we deserved a better outcome," Parise said. "Threw a lot of shots at the net. I think we just, top to bottom, we played really well. Unfortunately we didn't get the winner. It's one of those games you feel like you played well and deserved to come out with two [points]."

Couture made it 3-2 at 16:31 on a power play. It was his fifth goal in six games.
Adam Pelech tied it 3-3 19 seconds later, at 16:50, after the Sharks turned over the puck in the neutral zone.
"Everyone stepped up really well," San Jose defenseman Jake Middleton said. "Nice to win one too. Really nice. This is the first time I've heard music after [in the dressing room] in seven games and I couldn't be happier."
NOTES:Sharks defenseman Nicolas Meloche left in the second period after being elbowed in the head. He will be reassessed Friday, Boughner said. ... San Jose forward Ryan Dzingel played his 400th NHL game, his second with San Jose after being claimed on waivers. ... Parise has scored 831 points (400 goals, 431 assists) in 1,107 NHL games in 17 seasons with the Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild. … Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom had one shot and one hit in 12:11 after missing two games with an upper-body injury. … Barzal has scored seven points (one goal, six assists) in the past six games. … Chara tied forward Mark Recchi for seventh in NHL games played. … Chara was selected by the Islanders in the third round (No. 56) of the 1996 NHL Draft and made his debut Nov. 19, 1997. He has eight assists in 44 games this season and has scored 674 points (207 goals, 467 assists) in the NHL. Chelios played 26 NHL seasons for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Atlanta Thrashers. His last game was April 6, 2010 with Atlanta.