Marleau scores 500th as Sharks' win in Vancouver
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Patrick Marleau scored his 500th NHL goal on a first-period power play as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 Thursday night.
Marleau, playing in his 19th NHL season, became the 45th player to score 500 goals and the first to reach the milestone with the Sharks. The 37-year-old from Aneroid, Sask., who has eight points (7-1) in his last five games, is the 18th person to reach 500 goals with his original team.
Chris Tierney scored twice for the Sharks (33-17-2). Brent Burns had a goal and an assist.
The Sharks are (8-0-1) in their last nine games and have not lost in Vancouver in over five years.
Philip Larsen scored for the Canucks (23-22-6).
Canuck goaltender Ryan Miller made 28 saves. San Jose goalie Martin Jones, making his 44th start, stopped 32 shots.
The Sharks led 2-0 after the first period. Marleau opening the scoring at 9:30, just 15 seconds after Vancouver's Troy Stecher was called for interference.
Burns started the play with a pretty pass from deep in his own zone that found Joe Pavelski at the blue line. Pavelski passed to Marleau who beat Miller with a shot high to the blocker side for his 19th of the season.
Tierney made it 2-0 at 15:59. Defenseman David Schlemko took a shot from the point that Miller stopped. Tierney fought off a check from Larsen to put in the rebound for his fifth of the year.
The Canucks outshot San Jose 16-11 in a scoreless second period.
Burns made it 3-0 with just 53 second gone in the third, tipping a pass from Tomas Hertl past Miller.
Larsen got the Canucks on the scoresheet at 6:35 when his shot from the point deflected off Sharks' defenseman Paul Martin and past Jones. It was Larsen's first goal of the season and first as a Canuck.
Tierney scored his second of the night on a power play at 14:41. He took a pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and beat Miller on the far side. At first officials called off the goal, saying Joel Ward had interfered with Miller. That was overturned on a review.
NOTES: The Canucks were 6-3-3 in January, going 3-1-0 versus Colorado and Arizona -- the two worst teams in the NHL. ... Vancouver's last home regulation loss was Dec. 22 against Winnipeg. ... C Reid Boucher and D Alex Biega were healthy scratches ... RW Jannik Hansen, who missed his 17th game with a sprained knee, is practicing with a brace and is expected to return to the lineup Saturday when the Canucks play Minnesota. ... After not playing each other for 309 days, the Canucks and Sharks face each other five times in 66 days. ... The Sharks' last loss in Vancouver was Jan. 21, 2012. ... RW Joonas Donskoi (upper body) didn't travel to Vancouver and missed his fourth consecutive game. ... C Micheal Haley and D Tim Heed were healthy scratches. ... Five of San Jose's next six games are on the road. ... The Sharks return home to play Arizona Saturday.