Sharks limp home after successful trip
VANCOUVER, B.C. >> As the injuries continue to pile up, the Sharks found a way to finally give themselves a little cushion in the Pacific Division standings.
The Sharks limped their way to a 3-0 record on their trip through Western Canada, picking up a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday after losing defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and forward Melker Karlsson to injuries. The Sharks extended their winning streak to four games and stretched their lead over the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks for second place in the Pacific to five points with 10 games remaining.
“Gutsy performance when you have the deck stacked, end of a road trip, we lost two men early,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “Huge,
character, gutsy — all those adjectives. I thought it was a fantastic win.”
Timo Meier scored the game-winning goal, breaking a 3-3 tie at 6:07 of the third by beating goalie Jacob Markstrom with a shot from the left circle, his 20th goal of the season and second of the game. Tomas Hertl iced the game with his 20th goal, an emptynetter, at 19:35 of the third.
Vlasic left the ice at 4:44 of the second period after he took a Derrick Pouliot slapshot to his throat area. Defenseman Justin Braun said it was scary to see his defensive partner get hit by the shot up high.
“We saw what happened with (Logan Couture) and what kind of disaster that turned into,” Braun said, referring to the shot that caused damage to all of Couture’s teeth last season. “Thankfully, he didn’t lose any teeth. Hopefully, he’ll get back soon.”
DeBoer said the Sharks won’t have an update on Vlasic until the team returns to practice on Monday.
The defenseman’s injury forced the Sharks to finish their third game in four nights with just five defensemen, including veteran Paul Martin, who was suiting up for just his fourth NHL game of the season and his first since Dec. 7.
Martin entered the lineup because Sharks defenseman Joakim Ryan is sidelined with an upperbody injury. The 37-yearold took just three shifts
in the third, so the Sharks essentially closed out the game with just four defensemen.
“He didn’t even know he was going to play (until this morning),” DeBoer said of Martin. “It was just a lot of stuff that was thrown at us in the last 24 hours. The strength of our group has been the resiliency all year in these situations, starting with Joe Thornton, and even back to Patty Marleau leaving in the summer.”
The Sharks also lost Karlsson to a lower-body injury at 3:17 of the first when he blocked a slapshot from defenseman Alex Edler. DeBoer’s club is also making due without Donskoi, who suffered an apparent left-shoulder injury in Edmonton on Wednesday.
Like Vlasic, DeBoer said the Sharks will provide more information about Karlsson’s injury on Monday.
Vlasic’s absence was
glaring when the Sharks took a trio of penalties in the second period, allowing the Canucks to crawl out of a 3-1 hole with their second and third power play goals of the game. The 30-yearold Vlasic is the Sharks top shutdown defenseman and one of the team’s most reliable penalty killers.
Bo Horvat made it a 3-2 game at 5:23, punching a pass from Sam Gagner in between goalie Aaron Dell’s legs. The Canucks then tied the game at 11:48 after Martin took a high sticking penalty. Edler scored the equalizer, beating Dell on a shot from the point.
“He’s one of the best penalty killers in the league,” DeBoer said of Vlasic. “You have to give them some credit for getting back into the game with their power play.”
Nikolay Goldobin scored the Canucks first powerplay goal at 10:48 of the first period, getting a pinch of revenge on the squad that selected him with the 27th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and moved him at the trade deadline last winter.
The game marked the first time since Dec. 15 that the Sharks top-ranked penalty kill has surrendered more than one goal in a game, and the first time since opening night that it has given up three powerplay goals.
Kevin Labanc got the Sharks on the board at 14:58 of the opening period, tying the game at 1-1 with his second goal in as many nights. Couture put the Sharks ahead 2-1 at 16:08 of the first by scoring his team-leading 29th goal on the rush.
Meier gave the Sharks a two-goal lead at 1:47 of the second, redirecting a Brenden Dillon point shot in the slot for his first of the night.
Couture, Meier and Labanc all finished the game with two points a piece.