Pettersson, Canucks stay hot with rout of Sharks


Reuters | San Jose | Updated: 03-11-2019 13:40 IST | Created: 03-11-2019 13:36 IST
Pettersson, Canucks stay hot with rout of Sharks
Image Credit: pixabay
  • Country:
  • United States

Elias Pettersson scored twice, and Jake Virtanen had a goal and an assist as the Vancouver Canucks finally solved San Jose backup goaltender Aaron Dell, defeating the host Sharks 5-2 on Saturday night. Brandon Sutter and Adam Gaudette also scored for the Canucks, who extended their points streak to seven games (5-0-2) and have won nine of 12. Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat had two assists apiece.

Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko lost his bid for his first NHL shutout when San Jose's Marc Edouard-Vlasic scored on a short-handed goal off a two-on-one with Barclay Goodrow at 10:51 of the third period to make it 4-1. Evander Kane scored with 22 seconds left to cap the scoring. Demko made 24 saves. The Sharks suffered their fifth consecutive defeat. Dell previously was 5-0 with a .946 save percentage and two shutouts against Vancouver. He stopped 23 of 28 shots Saturday.

The Canucks scored twice in the opening period and added two more goals in the opening 5:11 of the second to pull away. The first goal came after Dell failed to clear the puck from behind his own net. The Canucks' Josh Leivo tracked down the puck in the right corner and took a spinning slap shot from the faceoff circle. Dell made the save, but Sutter pounced on the rebound just 4:17 into the game.

Pettersson showed why he was last season's Rookie of the Year, making it 2-0 at 12:46. Boeser charged after the puck in the right corner and sent a crossing pass that deflected off a defenseman's skate. Pettersson, at the top of the crease, was able to shovel the bouncing puck past Dell. Virtanen scored just 45 seconds into the middle period, taking a long stretch pass down the center of the ice from defenseman Alexander Edler and going in on a breakaway. Dell got a piece of Virtanen's backhander, but the puck trickled over the goal line as determined by video review.

Gaudette made it 4-0 at 5:11 of the second, centering the puck into the crease from the left wing. The puck bounced off the skate of defenseman Mario Ferraro and into the net. Pettersson scored a power-play goal at 12:23 of the third to give the Canucks a 5-1 advantage.

Also Read: Sharks continue dominance over Canadiens

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Give Feedback