Quick strikes help Sharks down Canucks
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks brushed off recent injury adversity by setting a franchise record with their fastest two-goal sequence en route to a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night at SAP Center.
By sweeping the Canucks in a home-and-home series, San Jose clinched no worse than a third-place finish in the Pacific Division. The Sharks earned just their third win in 11 games while fourth-place Calgary lost to first-place Anaheim.
The Sharks also tied second-place Edmonton in points (97). The Sharks host the Oilers, who lost in Los Angeles on Tuesday and have played one fewer game, on Thursday.
Rookie Kevin Labanc and veteran Joel Ward scored within 12 seconds during the opening 30 ticks to get the Sharks off to their fast start. That beat the former mark of Owen Nolan and Joe Murphy scoring in the first 47 seconds of an eventual 2-2 tie with Chicago on Oct. 22, 1998.
Vancouver narrowed the lead when defenseman Chris Tanev scored his second goal of the season with a screen shot from the top of the right circle 3:30 into the final period.
But Chris Tierney scored his 10th when a Brent Burns wrist shot caromed off the right leg of the San Jose center and past Canucks goalie Richard Bachman at 9:18.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones stopped 33 of 34 shots for his 35th win.
San Jose scored on its first two shots of the game to take a 2-0 lead before some in attendance even took their seats.
Sharks captain Joe Pavelski won an offensive-zone draw in the right circle to Labanc. After kicking the puck to his stick, Labanc scored on a turnaround shot by picking the top right corner of the net for his eighth goal just 18 seconds after the opening faceoff.
Line 2 was up next, and Ward scored his ninth on the rush. Joonas Donskoi left the puck for an onrushing Ward, who wound up to beat Bachman with a slapper from the top of the right circle 12 seconds after the hosts scored their first goal.
NOTES: San Jose played Tuesday without its top two centers -- Joe Thornton (left knee) and Logan Couture (head injury). Thornton's streak of 201 straight games was snapped as he missed only his eighth game due to injury since dealt to San Jose in November of 2005. Couture, who has yet to even return to the ice since getting struck in the mouth with a deflected puck on March 25, missed his fifth straight. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer coined the pair day-to-day, but there is no time-table for their return. ... Ex-Shark Nikolay Goldobin made his first return to San Jose since a trade deadline deal with the Canucks. Goldobin started on the right wing alongside the Sedin twins.