SAN JOSE
– The Vancouver Canucks built a 3-0 lead through two periods on
held on to defeat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 in pre-season action at
HP Pavilion Saturday night.
The Sharks will take a 1-2 record into a back-to-back series with the Phoenix Coyotes. Phoenix plays host Monday, the Sharks entertaining the Coyotes Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the final pre-season home game for San Jose.
“For the first 40 minutes, the team wearing white (Canucks) had a lot more emotion,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan. “We turned it around in the third, but too little too late.”
The first-year coach added that “the team wasn’t prepared, and that’s squarely on my shoulders and the leadership’s shoulders. It’s disappointing, we had a little discussion between the second and third period, and I guess the most disappointing thing is that it was there, we just didn’t bring it.”
Vancouver took advantage of seven power plays in the first 40 minutes to grab a 3-0 lead by the second intermission.
Pavol Demitra slapped in a rebound of an Alexander Edler shot 12:15 into the first period on a Canuck power play.
Jannik Hansen skated in on San Jose goalie Brian Boucher on a breakaway while the Canucks were shorthanded in the second period. Boucher blocked the Hansen shot but fell victim to Jason Krog’s follow-up shot from point-blank range for the 2-0 cushion with 5:31gone in the period.
Vancouver needed only 13 seconds of a power play caused by a Jason Demers hooking infraction to make it 3-0. Boucher hustled to make two quick stops before Jannik Hansen stuffed home the puck at the 16:00 mark.
“They were a little faster than we were in the beginning,” new Shark Rob Blake said of the Canucks’ play leading to many San Jose penalties in the first two periods.
San Jose earned four power plays in the third period, netting one extra-man goal.
Patrick Marleau, playing the point on the power play, drilled a shot from the blueline that deflected off both Mike Morris and then Ryane Clowe before settling into the net behind goalie Cory Schneider at the 9:24 mark.
Boucher was pulled for an extra skater in the game’s final minute. Marleau completed the scoring when he one-timed a Joe Thornton pass into a goal between Schneider’s pads with 8.4 seconds left.
The regular season begins for the Sharks on Thursday Oct. 9 at home against the Anaheim Ducks.
