“It was a good reaction,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We played better. We competed a little harder and did some of the things we talked about. Keep moving forward.”
Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro reaches up to catch the puck – Photo by Jack Lima
Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks (10-13-2), who lost seven of nine (2-5-2). Nikita Tolopilo made 21 saves.
“We seemed a little out of the woods,” Vancouver coach Adam Foote said. “It seemed like there were emotions involved, and we were just out of sync. You’ve got to bring that back in. It’s a winnable game.”
Boeser gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 4:28 of the first period. Conor Garland fed Boeser into the slot from the right boards and his wrist shot beat Askarov’s blocker.
Canucks defenseman Tom Willander tries to control the loose puck – Photo by Jack Lima
“It’s looking good. It’s obviously very chilly here when you lose by one,” Boeser said. “I got some good looks there, even in the second period, back-to-back looks. Those are the ones I wish I could put in the net.”
Smith’s power play goal made it 1-1 at 9:25. Alexander Wennberg tried to pass the puck over the net, but it was blocked by Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek. However, the second attempt came through and Smith’s one-timer beat Tolopilo with the blocker.
Canuks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) checks Sharks forward Colin Graf (51) into his goalie Nikita Tolopilo – Photo by Jack Lima
Pettersson put the Canucks back up 2-1 at 3:04 of the second period. After tapping the puck to himself from the air and falling to the left side of the net, Pettersson swept the puck backward toward the net, only for it to bounce in off Askarov’s right path.
Eklund tied the score at 2-2 on a 5-on-3 power play at 2:03. Celebrini slid a pass to the right, and Eklund’s one-timer from the bottom of the right circle beat Tolopilo through the five-hole.
Canuks center Elias Pettersson (40) scores on a shot from his back to beat Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov – Photo by Jack Lima
“It’s always fun to score,” Eklund said. “Good power plays, they shoot a lot of pucks and get a lot of chances out of them. We’re better at getting pucks back after we shoot and helping each other.”
Gaudette gave San Jose a 3-2 lead 1:14 later at 3:17.
Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo stops a shot by Sharks forward Alexander Wennberg (21) – Photo by Jack Lima
Tolopilo gloved Gaudette’s backhand wraparound attempt, which was initially ruled a no-goal on the ice. However, following a review initiated by the NHL Situation Room, it was determined that the puck completely crossed the goal line while in the glove, and the play was overturned.
“I thought I saw it go in,” Gaudette said. “It was hard to watch, and luckily Toronto, I think, called and said it looked like it went over the line. You could see it in the goalie’s glove net. I was just praying they would call that a goal after a lot of chances.”
Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo stops a shot by Sharks center Will Smith (2) – Photo by Jack Lima
NOTES: Boeser’s goal was his 450th NHL point (213 goals, 237 assists), passing Todd Bertuzzi (449 points) for 10th on the Canucks’ all-time list. … Pettersson scored his 193rd career goal, tying Alexandre Burrows for 11th on Vancouver’s all-time list. … Celebrini, playing in his 95th NHL game, came within one point of 100 in his career (39 goals, 60 assists).
Canucks forward Lukas Reichel shoots on goal – Photo by Jack Lima
Canucks forward Evander Kane calls for a penalty from referee Garrett Rank – Photo by Jack Lima
Canucks forward Evander Kane (91) predicts Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren (37) while trying to move the puck – Photo by Jack Lima
Canucks center David Kampf shoots on goal – Photo by Jack Lima
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