Canucks 7, Sharks 3
Daniel Sedin scored twice and Kevin Bieksa had a goal, an assist and a rare postseason scrap as the Vancouver Canucks routed visiting San Jose 7-3 Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in the NHL's Western Conference final.
Bieksa took a blueline-to-blueline pass from Chris Higgins midway through the second period and went in on a breakaway, beating Niemi between the legs to give Vancouver a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Higgins, Raffi Torres, Aaron Rome and Mason Raymond added goals for the Canucks.
Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Ben Eager countered for San Jose, which will look to rebound when it hosts Game 3 on Friday night.
Power plays were the story of the opening period. After Couture kicked things off on a man advantage at 2:28, Sedin scored on a power play at 9:39 and Torres put Vancouver in front just 49 seconds later.
San Jose drew even at 13:03 on Marleau's third goal in as many games with Sedin in the box for cross-checking.
As tensions began to boil over, Bieksa and Marleau engaged in the first fight of the series after a prolonged exchange of slashes with 2:02 left in the period.
Higgins extended the lead on a power play 7:56 into the third, wristing a one-timer past Niemi on an Alex Burrows pass from the left boards. Vancouver put the game away on another man advantage, with Sedin slapping a pass from his brother Henrik through Niemi's legs at 11:41.
Eager scored late to make it 7-3, then promptly earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting a prone Roberto Luongo while celebrating in the crease.