San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Nick Bonino scored the eventual game-
winning goal late in the second period to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2
victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
Radim Vrbata and Alexander Edler also found the back of the net and Ryan
Miller made 34 saves for Vancouver, which has won two straight games and six
of its last seven.
James Sheppard and Logan Couture supplied San Jose’s offense and Antti Niemi
turned aside 16-of-19 shots in defeat.
The Sharks regained the lead on the power play with 9:17 left in the second.
Patrick Marleau sent a cross-ice feed to Joe Pavelski at the right circle.
Pavelski sent a saucer pass down to the crease, where Couture re-directed it
through his legs and into the net for a 2-1 edge.
Vancouver responded with two unanswered goals to take its first lead.
Edler’s blast from the top of the circle found twine just over two minutes
later and Bonino made a move around Tomas Hertl and beat Niemi with a wrister
on the blocker side for a 3-2 lead with 2:40 remaining in the middle stanza.
The Sharks pulled Niemi with over a minute to play. Joe Thornton banked a shot
off Miller and into the net, but time just expired and the Canucks held on for
the win.
Tyler Kennedy forced a turnover as the Canucks failed to clear their zone and
shipped the puck to a streaking Hertl in the slot. Hertl pivoted and fired a
shot that deflected off the skate of Sheppard into the net for a lead midway
through the first period.
Vrbata raced down the right side and wristed a shot under the arm of a sliding
Niemi to tie the game with 7.7 seconds left in the opening stanza.
Game Notes
Kennedy made his season debut after he was activated from injured reserve on
Thursday … Niemi made his fifth straight start for the Sharks … Alexandre
Burrows tallied an assist in his return to the ice after serving a three-game
suspension for his hit on Montreal’s Alexei Emelin on Oct. 30.
