The Vancouver Canucks got off to a rough start after the Christmas break, losing in overtime Sunday to the Anaheim Sucks. The Canucks weren't happy with the way they played, and they did something about it Tuesday at SAP Center against the San Jose Sharks. The Canucks bounced back in a big way, defeating the Sharks 3-1 in a battle against another Pacific Division foe. Bo Horvat, Jannik Hansen and Radim Vrbata each scored a goal, and Ryan Miller made 31 saves for Vancouver (21-11-3). Vancouver (45 points) pulled to within nine points of first-place Anaheim in the Pacific. The Canucks are one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and two ahead of the Sharks and Calgary Flames for second place. The Canucks ended the Sharks' eight-game home winning streak and handed them their third straight loss overall. San Jose (19-13-5) is on its longest losing streak since a four-game skid Nov. 18-26.
Sharks center Joe Thornton scored on a penalty shot in the second period.
Miller improved to 9-1-1-0 in 11 career games against the Sharks, including 2-0-0 this season. He made 34 saves against the Sharks at SAP Center on Nov. 6 in a 3-2 victory. Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock, making his first start since Dec. 11, made 18 saves. San Jose entered the game with the NHL's No. 2 power play, but went 0-for-4 with the man advantage against Vancouver, which did not have a power-play opportunity. The Canucks took a 1-0 lead at 3:08 of the first period on Horvat's second NHL goal. The rookie spun and fired a shot from the left circle into heavy traffic. The puck banked off Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon's skate, and as Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows jammed away, it trickled past Stalock. The Sharks outshot Vancouver 11-7 in the first period, but their best chance to score came on a penalty shot by Joe Pavelski at 8:28 that hit the crossbar and bounced over the net. Pavelski earned the penalty shot when Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler tripped him from behind on a breakway off a pass from Thornton. Vancouver increased its lead to 2-0 at 3:05 of the second period on Hansen's ninth goal. Hansen had been in the penalty box for an illegal check to Sharks forward Tommy Wingels' head. He sprinted out of the box at the end of a penalty kill, took a pass from Edler and scored on a breakaway. San Jose cut Vancouver's lead to 2-1 at 4:36 of the second when Thornton scored on a penalty shot, banking the puck off the left post and past Miller. Thornton was on a breakaway when Canucks defenseman Christopher Tanev dove in front of him, sending Thornton to the ice. The penalty-shot goal was San Jose's first in five years, to the day, and ended an 0-for-7 streak, including three tries this season. Former Sharks forward Ryan Clowe and Thornton each scored on penalty shots Dec. 30, 2009, at SAP Center in a 5-2 victory against the Washington Capitals in San Jose's only other game with two penalty-shot attempts. Vancouver answered at 7:09 of the second period with Vrbata's 14th goal. He took a shot from the left circle that deflected off Stalock's glove and into the net, giving the Canucks a 3-1 lead. The Sharks, who face the Ducks on Wednesday at Honda Center, pulled Stalock with 2:30 left in the game, but even with the extra attacker, they couldn't get the puck past Miller again. Sharks forward Matt Nieto was activated from injured reserve Tuesday and returned to the lineup after missing nine games with an ankle injury. He skated on the fourth line. Defenseman Matt Irwin was in the lineup for San Jose after sitting eight games as a healthy scratch.
Dirty Dog, Jannik Hansen was fined $5,000 by the NHL on Wednesday for an illegal check to the head of Tommy Wingels. Hansen was assessed a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head in the second period of the Canucks' 3-1 road victory Tuesday night. Wingels was checked out for a possible concussion and returned later in the period. The fine is the maximum amount allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Sharks Quotes
Todd McLellan: "I didn't think we were particularly good, and the score indicated that. For me there's a price we have to pay to win, and right now we're not reaching deep enough. We want everything on sale. ... We want the easy way out. The power play is a prime example. We had 6-8 shots, looked at them, I don't think we had anybody near the net or around [Miller's] eyes. I didn't like it. I didn't like the hit, I didn't like the fact that he came out of the box and scored the winning goal and got to play the rest of the night."Joe Pavelski: "Breaks of the game. You wish it would go in. It's fun to be a part of. Game turns a little bit if that finds its way in."
Joe Thornton: "It was tough to get some good looks tonight for whatever reason. They worked really hard defensively. We haven't played that well coming out of the Christmas break, so tomorrow is a huge game and we need to find some energy."
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