sleddy2008
03-19-2010, 05:07 AM
C/P from TSN.ca
VANCOUVER -- Roberto Luongo made 32 saves as the Vancouver Canucks beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Thursday night.
Luongo redeemed himself after was pulled after the second period of an embarrassing 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Alexander Edler and Ryan Kesler each had a goal and an assist while Ryan Johnson, with his first goal in 82 games, also scored for Vancouver (44-24-3).
Ryan Clowe and Joe Pavelski replied for the Sharks (43-17-10), who suffered their fourth straight loss.
San Jose, which entered the game with outright possession of first place in the Western Conference, had beaten Vancouver in eight of nine previous meetings. Thursday's game was the first of three Sharks-Canucks games between now and the end of the regular season.
The Sharks entered the game still smarting from an 8-2 shellacking in Dallas on Tuesday, the first time they had surrendered eight goals since 2006.
Unlike two nights earlier, the Canucks got off to a strong start as the Sharks ran into early penalty trouble. Edler opened the scoring on a power play 8:31 into the game, putting his point shot through screened goaltender Evgeni Nabakov.
The goal came only 17 seconds after Joe Thornton was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking Alex Burrows along the boards.
Kesler put the Canucks ahead 2-0 during another power play just under four minutes later as Kyle Wellwood screened Nabakov again. The Canucks converted two of three first-period power plays and outshot the Sharks 13-6 in the period.
With the clubs playing four-on-four, Clowe put the Sharks on the board four minutes into the second as he easily outmuscled, Christian Ehrhoff and then went around Luongo.
Johnson gave Vancouver a 3-1 lead at 16:48 of the second with his first goal since Jan. 28, 2009. Rick Rypien, who has missed much of the season due to injury and undisclosed personal issues, drew a rare assist for just his fourth point of the season.
Luongo preserved the Canucks two-goal advantage for most of the third with some timely saves. He thwarted Devin Setoguchi with 10 minutes left, picked off a Pavelski shot with his catching glove, and kicked out a Manny Malhotra slapshot during a Sharks' power play.
Pavelski drew the Sharks within a goal at 16:52.
Minor-league callup Michael Grabner played in place of injured Vancouver winger Mikael Samuelsson, the NHL's first star last week, who is out two or three weeks with an upper-body injury suffered Tuesday.
Grabner was with the Canucks early in the season but suffered a freak ankle fracture while playing soccer in a pre-game warmup Nov. 1. He clanked a shot off the post in the first period.
Notes: Unlike many other clubs this late in the season, the Sharks have no major injuries ... Canucks defenceman Shane O'Brien returned to the lineup after sitting out three games as a healthy scratch. He assisted on Johnson's goal. Andrew Alberts, acquired from Carolina at trading deadline, was banished to the press box for recent poor play ... Jordan Schroeder, 19, the Canucks' top 2009 draft choice visited the club on Thursday for a brief orientation session before joining Manitoba of the AHL. He signed with the Canucks on Wednesday after leaving the University of Minnesota with two years of U.S. collegiate eligibility remaining ... San Jose winger Jed Ortmeyer was scratched.
VANCOUVER -- Roberto Luongo made 32 saves as the Vancouver Canucks beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Thursday night.
Luongo redeemed himself after was pulled after the second period of an embarrassing 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Alexander Edler and Ryan Kesler each had a goal and an assist while Ryan Johnson, with his first goal in 82 games, also scored for Vancouver (44-24-3).
Ryan Clowe and Joe Pavelski replied for the Sharks (43-17-10), who suffered their fourth straight loss.
San Jose, which entered the game with outright possession of first place in the Western Conference, had beaten Vancouver in eight of nine previous meetings. Thursday's game was the first of three Sharks-Canucks games between now and the end of the regular season.
The Sharks entered the game still smarting from an 8-2 shellacking in Dallas on Tuesday, the first time they had surrendered eight goals since 2006.
Unlike two nights earlier, the Canucks got off to a strong start as the Sharks ran into early penalty trouble. Edler opened the scoring on a power play 8:31 into the game, putting his point shot through screened goaltender Evgeni Nabakov.
The goal came only 17 seconds after Joe Thornton was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking Alex Burrows along the boards.
Kesler put the Canucks ahead 2-0 during another power play just under four minutes later as Kyle Wellwood screened Nabakov again. The Canucks converted two of three first-period power plays and outshot the Sharks 13-6 in the period.
With the clubs playing four-on-four, Clowe put the Sharks on the board four minutes into the second as he easily outmuscled, Christian Ehrhoff and then went around Luongo.
Johnson gave Vancouver a 3-1 lead at 16:48 of the second with his first goal since Jan. 28, 2009. Rick Rypien, who has missed much of the season due to injury and undisclosed personal issues, drew a rare assist for just his fourth point of the season.
Luongo preserved the Canucks two-goal advantage for most of the third with some timely saves. He thwarted Devin Setoguchi with 10 minutes left, picked off a Pavelski shot with his catching glove, and kicked out a Manny Malhotra slapshot during a Sharks' power play.
Pavelski drew the Sharks within a goal at 16:52.
Minor-league callup Michael Grabner played in place of injured Vancouver winger Mikael Samuelsson, the NHL's first star last week, who is out two or three weeks with an upper-body injury suffered Tuesday.
Grabner was with the Canucks early in the season but suffered a freak ankle fracture while playing soccer in a pre-game warmup Nov. 1. He clanked a shot off the post in the first period.
Notes: Unlike many other clubs this late in the season, the Sharks have no major injuries ... Canucks defenceman Shane O'Brien returned to the lineup after sitting out three games as a healthy scratch. He assisted on Johnson's goal. Andrew Alberts, acquired from Carolina at trading deadline, was banished to the press box for recent poor play ... Jordan Schroeder, 19, the Canucks' top 2009 draft choice visited the club on Thursday for a brief orientation session before joining Manitoba of the AHL. He signed with the Canucks on Wednesday after leaving the University of Minnesota with two years of U.S. collegiate eligibility remaining ... San Jose winger Jed Ortmeyer was scratched.