The Vancouver Canucks started the Sharks on their six-game
losing streak earlier this month and Thursday night San Jose took a
big step toward putting those unpleasant memories far behind them.
Goals by Sharks center Logan Couture and Vancouver center Henrik
Sedin pushed the game first into overtime, then a shootout where
San Jose came out on top, 2-1, when Joe Pavelski’s shot beat
Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo while Antti Niemi stopped all three
shots he faced.
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VANCOUVER
The Vancouver Canucks started the Sharks on their six-game losing streak earlier this month and Thursday night San Jose took a big step toward putting those unpleasant memories far behind them.
Goals by Sharks center Logan Couture and Vancouver center Henrik Sedin pushed the game first into overtime, then a shootout where San Jose came out on top, 2-1, when Joe Pavelski’s shot beat Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo while Antti Niemi stopped all three shots he faced.
It was the Sharks’ third consecutive victory and their first win in three tries against the Canucks, and a strong performance by Niemi with 36 saves was key to making it happen.
The game was significant for the Sharks on at least a couple levels beyond the customary two points.
San Jose came into the contest on a very modest two-game winning streak, victories over St. Louis and Phoenix that hadn’t convinced coach Todd McLellan that his team had turned any corners just yet.
“I’m going to stand back and watch tonight because this is one of — if not the — top team in the league here in Vancouver and our last trip in didn’t go very well,” McLellan said, mindful of the fact that the Canucks spanked San Jose 6-1 on that Nov. 26 visit.
“I’d like to say we are turning the corner,” he added, “but tonight will be a little proof in the pudding and we’ll wait and see what happens.”
The game also marked the Sharks debut of center Kyle Wellwood, a former Canuck, and left wing Ben Eager — both of whom were acquired Tuesday in the wake of both a six-game losing streak and injuries to Ryane Clowe and Torrey Mitchell.
Wellwood, Eager and Benn Ferriero made up a new third line for the Sharks, but McLellan indicated he was open to shuffling his forwards if need be.
“If we like what we see, they’ll stay together longer,” he said. “If not, we’ll have to find the right combination.”
By the second period, McLellan was again looking for those right combinations, breaking up all four lines that started the game. At one point, Jamal Mayers skated with Wellwood and Eager; at another, Wellwood centered Mayers and Jamie McGinn.
Each team dominated one of the first two periods and was rewarded for its effort.
The opening 20 minutes belonged to the Canucks as they outshot the Sharks 17-10 and controlled most of the play.
But Niemi was strong throughout, and the only puck to get past him followed a dipsy-doodle move by Henrik Sedin after taking a pass from brother Daniel and crossing the blueline untouched. Sedin looked as if he were taking the puck to the right of Niemi, but trailed his stick behind him and at the last minute, guided it into the far side of the net abandoned by the San Jose goalie to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 11:08.
The Sharks came out much stronger in the second period, amassing 25 shots on Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo while Niemi faced only nine.
By that point in the game, McLellan had Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski on one line, and they all applied pressure on Luongo, accounting for 11 of San Jose’s shots.
Still, it was a solo effort by Couture that tied the game at 1-1 at 13:46. Former Sharks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff was attempting to move the puck out of the Vancouver zone when Couture picked it cleanly off his stick and fired a quick shot. Luongo got in front of that one, but the Sharks rookie used a backhand to lift the rebound over the goalie and notched his team-high 21st goal of the season.
Even though he faced fewer shots, Niemi still had to be sharp, particularly on another shot by Henrik Sedin that nearly gave Vancouver the lead back with two seconds left before the second intermission.
Skating with speed on a breakaway early in the third period, Thornton had a chance to give the Sharks a lead, but Luongo got his glove on a shot that seemed destined for the back of the net.
— Story by David Pollak, San Jose Mercury News
