Sam Gagner on Friday night scored at 4 minutes, 34 seconds of overtime to help the Vancouver Canucks snap a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Gagner beat Martin Jones with a nice backhand move on a breakaway for his fourth of the season after a feed from Alexander Edler. It was Gagner’s first goal in nine games.
Markus Granlund scored twice and Brock Boeser also had a goal in regulation for Vancouver (15-14-4).
Photo: The Canadian Press via AP
Henrik Sedin and brother Daniel Sedin each added three assists. Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves.
Brent Burns scored two goals and Marcus Sorenson had one for San Jose (17-10-4). Jones stopped 36 shots for the Sharks, who were playing their second game in two nights after Thursday’s 3-2 road victory over the Calgary Flames.
San Jose had won 11 straight at Rogers Arena dating back to the Canucks’ last victory on home ice over their Pacific Division rivals all the way back on Jan. 21, 2012. Vancouver was 0-9-2 over that stretch while getting outscored 41-14.
Leading 3-2 through 40 minutes, the Canucks nearly restored their two-goal lead four minutes into the third, but Jones stretched to make a great pad save on Thomas Vanek.
The Sharks mustered only one shot through the first 13 minutes of the final period, but got the equalizer with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left in regulation, when Burns’ point shot went off the skate of Canucks defenseman Alex Biega in front and beat Markstrom for his second of the night, sixth of the season and fifth in five games.
Coming off Wednesday’s embarrassing 7-1 loss at home to Nashville, the Canucks stormed out of the gate against the Sharks and led 2-1 after the first period before Boeser stretched the lead to two.
The NHL’s rookie scoring leader ripped a shot over Jones’ shoulder on a power play at 11 minutes, 56 seconds of the second for his 17th, moments after slicing through the Sharks’ defense and ringing a shot off the post.
San Jose got that one back with 1 minute, 44 seconds left in the period, when former Canucks forward Jannik Hansen started a sequence that ended with Sorenson netting his first past Markstrom.
Already down five regulars, including two-thirds of their top line with Bo Horvat (broken foot) and Sven Baertschi (broken jaw) out long-term, the Canucks on Friday morning announced that shutdown defenseman Christopher Tanev would miss two to three weeks with a groin strain.
Granlund, who came in with one goal in his past 12 games, opened the scoring 44 seconds in on the power play. Daniel Sedin redirected a slap pass in the slot from Henrik Sedin right to Granlund at the side of the net, and he beat Jones between the legs for his fifth.
Vancouver could have easily been up by two or three moments later, as the Canucks led 10-0 in shots after just five minutes.
San Jose, who entered the contest seven for 21 in power plays over their past four games to climb from tied for 24th overall to tied for 11th, tested Markstrom five times on their first man-advantage opportunity before finally breaking through after Vancouver took another penalty.
The Sharks won an offensive zone face-off back to Burns, who snapped his fifth past Markstrom at 10 minutes, 45 seconds.
Markstrom stopped San Jose’s Chris Tierney on a short-handed breakaway later in the period before Granlund scored his second of the night, seconds after the penalty expired.
Daniel Sedin’s initial shot fell at the top of the crease to Henrik Sedin, who tapped it over for Granlund to put into a wide-open net at 14 minutes, 27 seconds.
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