ST. PAUL, Minn. - James Reimer made 29 saves for his third shutout in eight games and the San Jose Sharks beat the playoff-bound Minnesota Wild 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Minnesota lost its fourth straight game and second straight with a chance to clinch a playoff berth but backed into a postseason spot when Colorado lost to Nashville on Tuesday night.
Patrick Marleau scored twice and Logan Couture added his fifth goal in the past four games for San Jose, which owns an NHL-high 28 road wins this season.
Devan Dubnyk made 17 saves for the Wild.
Reimer has become a stout complement to goaltender Martin Jones after coming to San Jose in a Feb. 27 trade from Toronto. In eight games with his new team, Reimer has allowed 13 goals. He did not record a single shutout in his final 97 games with the Maple Leafs.
Reimer was making his first back-to-back starts with the Sharks after bearing Nashville on Saturday.
Another lackluster performance from Minnesota allowed San Jose to take control early.
Couture scored his 15th goal of the season less than 5 minutes into the game after grabbing a loose puck out of the air, dropping it to his stick right in front of the goal and knocking it past Dubnyk.
Marleau scored on the power play in the second and added his 24th with just 1:45 remaining.
San Jose has won seven of its past eight games on the road and is just 17-19-3 at home, where it will finish with games against Winnipeg and Arizona. San Jose owns the third playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
