Ducks 3, Sharks 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Center Rickard Rakell, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and left winger Ryan Garbutt scored to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night in front of 16,588 at the Honda Center.
Goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 30 shots for the Ducks (23-18-7), who earned their fourth successive victory and moved into a tie with the Arizona Coyotes for third place, the Pacific Division's final automatic playoff spot.
Defenseman Cam Fowler played his first game in nearly six weeks for Anaheim. Fowler missed 13 games after spraining his right knee Dec. 27 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Right wingers Dainius Zubrus and Tommy Wingels scored for the Sharks (26-19-4), who suffered their first loss in regulation since Jan. 7. As a result, San Jose fell nine points behind the first place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. Goalie Martin Jones made 22 saves but center Joe Thornton's 10-game point streak ended.
But Anaheim needed to defuse the Sharks' 6-on-4 power play in the final two minutes. Fowler received a hooking penalty with 2:07 to play, then San Jose coach Peter DeBoer pulled Jones for an extra attacker. But Andersen made three saves while the Ducks were shorthanded to secure the win.
The Ducks, who did not record a shot on goal for the first 6 minutes, 13 seconds, took a 1-0 lead with 3:51 left in the first period. Rakell dragged a rising wrist shot from the right circle into the upper-left corner of the net for his third goal in five games and his 11th of the season.
The Sharks tied the score 2:43 into the second period, when Zubrus scored his second goal of the season. Zubrus deflected defenseman Brent Burns' slap shot from the blue line between the legs of Anaheim defenseman Simon Despres and off goalie Frederik Andersen's glove.
Anaheim responded with two goals in less than eight minutes to build a 3-1 advantage. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm scored the first shorthanded goal of his career and his fourth of the season on a shot from the left circle that ricocheted off the crossbar at 4:19 of the second period.
Left winger Ryan Garbutt followed at 12:07 with his first goal since being acquired Jan. 21 from the Chicago Blackhawks. After Jones stopped right winger Chris Stewart's wrist shot on a 3-on-2 breakaway, Garbutt secured the long rebound and converted from the left circle for his third goal of the season.
Wingels narrowed the Sharks' deficit to 3-2 at 13:12 of the second period. Left winger Joonas Donskoi passed the puck from the slot while surrounded by Rakell and defenseman Kevin Bieksa to Wingels, who swept a shot from the left circle for his fifth goal.
NOTES: San Jose scratched RW Mike Brown and D Matt Tennyson. ... Sharks C Joe Thornton brought a 10-game point streak into Tuesday's contest. He registered two goals and 12 assists during his surge. ... Thornton and San Jose LW Patrick Marleau are the third pair of top-two choices from the same draft to amass at least 1,000 apiece. Both were chosen in 1997. The other pairs were Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne (1971) and Pierre Turgeon and Brendan Shanahan (1987). Lafleur, Dionne and Shanahan are in the Hall of Fame. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer, C Shawn Horcoff and C Harry Zolnierczyk, who was recalled Tuesday from San Diego of the American Hockey League. ... The Ducks' road game against the Washington Capitals has been rescheduled for April 10. The Jan. 22 contest was postponed because of a snowstorm. ... Ducks RW Corey Perry scored 10 of his team-high 20 goals in the past 15 games. ... Ducks G John Gibson was the first goaltender in 15 years to play in the NHL All-Star Game after starting the season in the AHL. Philadelphia's Roman Cechmanek accomplished the feat in 2001.