Vlasic goal gives Sharks OT victory over Ducks
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored at 1:24 of overtime to give the Sharks a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks before a sold-out crowd at SAP Center on Tuesday night.
Vlasic broke in on the right side after carrying the puck out of his zone and fired a low shot past Anaheim goaltender John Gibson. It was the hosts' only shot of the sudden death period.
San Jose outshot Anaheim 35-20 in regulation.
The Ducks played the third period without captain Ryan Getzlaf, who sustained an upper-body injury late in the second period.
Anaheim gained the equalizer by scoring the only goal of the second period despite getting outshot 15-5 during the middle 20 minutes.
Right wing Chris Wagner backhanded a short rebound between the legs of Sharks goaltender Martin Jones for his second goal of the season at 17:49. San Jose defenseman Brent Burns missed in his block attempt of Anaheim defenseman Clayton Stoner's wrist shot from the blue line as Jones appeared to be screened.
The Sharks failed to extend their early 1-0 lead despite earning a third power play early in the second period.
San Jose center Logan Couture was denied at even strength just past mid-period by Gibson, who replaced injured starter Jonathan Bernier at the start of the period. Bernier sustained an upper-body injury sometime in a first period in which he stopped 10 of 11 shots.
The Sharks (4-3-0) escaped a fast-paced first period, dominated by special teams' play, with a 1-0 lead on the strength of Joe Pavelski's power-play goal.
San Jose struck on its second man-advantage chance of the opening half of the period as Anaheim left wing Ryan Garbutt was sent off for a slash at 6:32.
Sharks' forwards Joonas Donskoi and Patrick Marleau connected on a series of short passes in close to open Anaheim's penalty-killing box, and Pavelski emerged with his third goal of the season during a scramble in front after Marleau put a shot on goal. The goal stood after a lengthy review.
The Ducks (2-3-2) had a chance to tie it with consecutive power plays, including 36 seconds of a 5-on-3. But despite putting a combined six shots on goal during its man-advantage time, Anaheim couldn't penetrate Jones, who had a big blocker stop on Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen.
San Jose's Micheal Haley earned 17 penalty minutes by instigating a fight with Anaheim's Clayton Stoner, who threw a high hit on Marleau to draw the ire of Haley.
NOTES: Coming off consecutive losses and outscored 15-9 in their last four, the Sharks featured new forward lines against Anaheim. Offseason acquisition LW Mikkel Boedker joined C Joe Thornton and RW Joe Pavelski on the top line. Tomas Hertl dropped to center a third line with LW Patrick Marleau and RW Melker Karlsson. RW Joel Ward joined second-liners C Logan Couture and RW Joonas Donskoi. And LW Micheal Haley made his second appearance of the season on a fourth line with C Chris Tierney and RW Tommy Wingels. ... Anaheim finally enjoys a stretch at home as the Ducks play five of their next six games at Honda Center starting Wednesday against Nashville. ... San Jose, which opened with five of its first six on the road, continues a three-game homestand Thursday against Columbus. ... Anaheim won the season series last year, 3-1, winning each of the last three meetings. ... The Ducks and Sharks meet three times between Nov. 2