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The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Casey DeSmith made 38 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Tuesday night.
"I thought his confidence (was high). You could just see it from the drop of the puck," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think that's contagious. I think it rubs off on the group in front of him."
The Penguins' top line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Rickard Rakell each had three points. Crosby had three assists, giving him 41 this season.
Guentzel scored twice, including an empty-netter. Rakell had the first Pittsburgh goal.
"I think we worked hard. It was nice to get rewarded. It wasn't always pretty tonight, but it was nice to get the win," Rakell said.
Timo Meier scored his 31st goal late in the third period for the Sharks. Aaron Dell made 24 saves in his third start for San Jose this season. He has yet to earn a win.
"He played great. He's an NHL-caliber goaltender," Sharks captain Logan Couture said. "There's a reason he's played, I don't know how many games in this league. He's got the skill to do it."
Erik Karlsson and Alexander Barabanov both had their four-game point streaks snapped.
Pittsburgh took the lead early, with Rakell jumping on a juicy rebound 5:52 into the first period for his 19th goal of the season.
In the second, Crosby faked out the entire arena by going behind the net and throwing a no-look backhand pass to Guentzel, who had a wide-open net. It was Guentzel's 22nd goal of the season.
"Just got to be ready when you're with him. He made a nice play to make everyone fake, and it's pretty easy for (me)," Guentzel said.
Meier scored on a rush the full length of the ice and beat DeSmith through the legs with 4:03 to go.
"He's an elite player in this league. And he's a very difficult guy to contain. He had some chances tonight," Sharks coach David Quinn said. "That's a big-time goal and a power forward goal."
Guentzel added an empty-net goal to seal it.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
n Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin says his father, Mikhail, has died at age 71.
Ovechkin delivered the news Wednesday on social media along with family photos and video.
"Today my father passed away," Ovechkin posted in Russian on his Instagram account. "I thank everyone for their support but ask that you be understanding and not disturb my family at such a hard time for us! Thank you."
Ovechkin left the Capitals on Tuesday to tend to what the team called a family health matter regarding a loved one. Coach Peter Laviolette said he expected Ovechkin to be gone for at least the rest of the week and away for the foreseeable future.
"Life is tough," Laviolette said. "When it comes to your family and parents, that's what matters. He's going to deal with some things right now, and we're going to be supportive."
Ovechkin's father had not been in Washington in recent years while dealing with health issues at home in Moscow. Before that, Mikhail was a familiar face at the Capitals' practice facility and at games watching his son.
"Mr. Ovechkin was a true gentleman and was such a significant and consistent presence at Capitals games and practices," the team said in a statement. "With a constant smile on his face, he loved interacting with our fans and expressing his gratitude for their support of his son, of whom he was incredibly proud.
"Our organization's thoughts are with the Ovechkin family at this difficult time."