VANCOUVER (CP) — Sam Gagner scored at 4:34 of overtime as the Vancouver Canucks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.
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 his first goal in nine games.
Markus Granlund, with two, and Brock Boeser scored in regulation for Vancouver (15-14-4), while Henrik and Daniel Sedin each added three assists.
Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves.
Brent Burns, with two, and Marcus Sorenson replied for San Jose (17-10-4). Martin Jones stopped 36 shots for the Sharks, who were playing their second game in as many nights after Thursday’s 3-2 road victory over the Calgary Flames.
San Jose came in having won 11 straight at Rogers Arena dating back to the Canucks’ last victory on home ice over the 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 5:49 left in regulation when Burns’s point shot went off the skate of Canucks defenceman 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 home-ice loss to the Nashville Predators, 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’s shoulder on the power play at 11:56 of the second for his 17th, moments after slicing through the Sharks defence and ringing a shot off the post.
San Jose got that one back with 1:44 left in the period when former Canucks forward Jannik Hansen started a sequence that ended with Sorenson burying his first past Markstrom.
The Canucks goalie then had to be sharp right after the restart with two big saves off the stick of Tomas Hertl to keep Vancouver up by one heading to the third.
Already minus five regulars, including two thirds of their top line with Bo Horvat (fractured foot) and Sven Baertschi (broken jaw) out long-term, the Canucks announced on Friday morning that shutdown defenceman Christopher Tanev will miss two to three weeks with a groin strain.
Granlund, who came in with one goal in his last 12 games, opened the scoring 44 seconds into the game 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 on the shot clock after just five minutes.
San Jose, which came in 7 for 21 on the power play over its last four games to climb from tied for 24th overall to tied for 11th, tested Markstrom five times on its first man-advantage opportunity before finally breaking through after Vancouver took another penalty.
The Sharks won an offensive-zone faceoff back to Burns, who snapped his fifth past Markstrom at 10:45.
Markstrom stopped San Jose’s Chris Tierney on a shorthanded 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 bury into a wide-open net at 14:27.
Notes: Canucks centre Brandon Sutter and defenceman Erik Gudbranson both remain on the sidelines with upper-body injuries. Vancouver is also without winger Derek Dorsett, who ended his playing career late last month due to spinal problems. … San Jose forward Joel Ward picked up an assist on Burns’s second goal of the night to pick up the 300th point of his NHL career in his 700th game.
— Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press