Four years ago, Brian Boucher was Mr. Shutout.
Playing for the Phoenix Coyotes in 2003-04, he kept teams off the scoreboard in five consecutive games, setting an NHL record by blanking the opposition for 332 minutes, 1 second.
Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, the Sharks backup goalie was Mr. Near Shutout, coming within less than five minutes of a second consecutive perfect performance since signing as a free agent Feb. 26.
No matter, really. The Sharks held on for a 2-1 victory on goals by Joe Thornton and Patrick Rissmiller to pad their lead over their Pacific Division rivals and pull to within five points of Detroit in what has become a two-team race to finish with the NHL's best regular-season record.
Backup goalie helps Sharks defeat Kings 2-1 (Mercury News) 
