Labanc ends drought with winner in OT
After scoring three goals in his first four games, Sharks forward Kevin Labanc had no idea how long it would be before he scored again.
He finally snapped a 23game goal drought with an overtime winner as the Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 at SAP Center on Thursday night.
“It felt good, but it felt better winning the game,” Labanc said. “They came back on us. We were a little bit worried. It was nice to get the two points and better ourselves in the standings.”
Labanc scored his fourth of the season at 1:53 of the extra period to cap a career-first four-point game. San Jose improved to 4-1-2 in its past seven. The Canucks lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Playing again without the injured Logan Couture, the Sharks continued to click in the power play and found just enough support to allow backup goalie Aaron Dell to win his fifth straight start.
San Jose went 3-for-5 with the man advantage to stretch its streak to seven games with at least one power-play strike. The Sharks are 12-for-33 in that span.
“We went over the boards knowing we were going to score, that was the feeling we had,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski before amplifying on San Jose’s recent power-play success. “We started making quality plays. We’re not passing through as many guys, as many sticks. We’re winning a few more draws and a few more battles.
“A big thing, too, is I think we’re shooting the puck more.”
Joe Thornton showed off his shooting skills with two powerplay strikes. His seven goals match last season’s output.
“He can shoot the puck as well, and you saw that tonight,” Pavelski said. “Those were a couple of big goals for us. When we make those plays and he’s pulling the trigger, that’s really good.”
Vancouver tied the game 4-4 in the third period when Daniel Sedin scored at 2:09 with a shot from the far edge of the right circle that slipped through the pads of Dell, who finished with 36 saves.
The Sharks emerged from a wild second period with a 4-3 lead on the strength of their power play.
Timo Meier scored his fifth goal of the season at 5:20 during a long cycle by San Jose on an even-strength shift. Defenseman Dylan DeMelo fed Meier after Labanc was patient to trigger the scoring sequence.
Following Thomas Vanek’s trip of Chris Tierney, it took Thornton only 22 seconds to convert with a bullet from the left dot over the shoulder of Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom at 6:29.
The Canucks rallied, however, with two goals. Jake Virtanen flew around Sharks rookie defenseman Tim Heed to score from in close at 8:49, and rookie Brock Boeser picked up his 19th with a backhand past Dell at 16:02.
San Jose went back on top during a 5-on-3 power play as Tomas Hertl scored his ninth of the season at 18:56.