New Blues coach still looking for win No. 1

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves in his eighth shutout of the season, and Jonathan Cheechoo scored early in the third period of the San Jose Sharks' 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.

Nabokov earned the 25th shutout of his career with a series of impressive saves. His glove hand was typically impeccable as he extended his own franchise record for shutouts in a season.

San Jose won for the fifth time in six games, staying six points ahead of Dallas in the Pacific Division with impressive defense. The Sharks are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games.

Chris Osgood stopped 17 shots for the Blues, who couldn't get any breaks on offense. They went winless on their five-game road trip -- including back-to-back shutout losses with Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Vancouver.

St. Louis is 0-2-1 since Mike Kitchen took over for fired coach Joel Quenneville.

The Blues traditionally dominate in San Jose, but Nabokov backstopped the Sharks to just their second home victory over the Blues in 11 games.

The first two periods were scoreless, though both teams had chances. The Sharks failed to score on two breakaways, while at least one St. Louis shot hit the post behind Nabokov during a power play in the second period.

The Sharks finally got a break in the opening minute of the third period when Steve Martins made an ill-advised pass to the middle of the Blues' zone. Patrick Marleau intercepted it and found Cheechoo, who scored on a one-timer from the slot.

Cheechoo's 19th goal of the season extended his point streak to a career-best seven games. He has five goals and five assists during that span.

Linesman Brad Kovachik was knocked out of the game less than three minutes in when Alex Korolyuk accidentally hit him with the puck while trying to dump it into St. Louis' end. Kovachik remained on the ice for two minutes, and was evaluated at a local hospital.

Notes: Referee Craig Spada took over Kovachik's linesman duties when the first period resumed. ... St. Louis D Jeff Finley played his 700th career game. ... As usual, the San Jose crowd booed Chris Pronger every time he touched the puck. The Shark Tank was sold out for the second straight game -- the first back-to-back sellouts of the season.