SAN JOSE
– The San Jose Sharks rallied to defeat the Vancouver Canucks
2-1 in overtime Tuesday night after scrambling to a 1-1 tie on a
Devin Setoguchi shot with 39.1 seconds left in regulation.
San Jose drew a Vancouver penalty 2:17 into the overtime when
Daniel Sedin was called for hooking. The Sharks converted the power
play 51 seconds later when Joe Thornton hustled to the left corner
of the Canucks zone to chase down a loose puck, then whipped a pass
to Patrick Marleau in the right circle for the one-timer over
Luongo’s shoulder and into the net.
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks rallied to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in overtime Tuesday night after scrambling to a 1-1 tie on a Devin Setoguchi shot with 39.1 seconds left in regulation.
San Jose drew a Vancouver penalty 2:17 into the overtime when Daniel Sedin was called for hooking. The Sharks converted the power play 51 seconds later when Joe Thornton hustled to the left corner of the Canucks zone to chase down a loose puck, then whipped a pass to Patrick Marleau in the right circle for the one-timer over Luongo’s shoulder and into the net.
The game also marked Claude Lemieux’s return to the National Hockey League, wearing a Sharks uniform after taking off more than the last five seasons.
The 43-year-old skated 12 shifts, tossed three shots on net and had three hits in his debut with the 34-6-5 Sharks.
“Lemieux played well, finished his checks and played seven and a half minutes,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan. “He has to feel good for himself after his first game back.”
Vancouver’s Taylor Pyatt scored his sixth goal of the season to snap a scoreless game 12:38 into the first period.
Canuck winger Henrik Sedin collected the puck behind the Sharks net and pulled a pass to the high slot to linemate Pyatt. Daniel Sedin and two Sharks produced sufficient screens so that goalie Evgeni Nabokov could not stop Pyatt’s blast into the top right corner of the net.
The one-goal lead held up until the final 40 seconds of the third period.
Nabokov kept the Sharks within one goal when he made a right pad save against a streaking Mats Sundin with 3:31 left in the third.
Thornton was able to secure a loose puck behind the Canucks net as San Jose struck with an added skater. Setoguchi dropped away from the crease to await Thornton’s pass, quickly finding an open spot inside the left post as Shark Joe Pavelski and Canucks Sami Salo and Willie Mitchell crowded the net in front of goalie Roberto Luongo.
For Lemieuex, the excitement of the win in his first game back in the NHL felt like being a rookie again.
“It really felt like the first game in the NHL,” he said.
“I tried to keep it simple, create some momentum. I’ve been dreaming about this day since I retired, so to speak. It was really special, much sweeter when you win. Whatever this team needs, I’ll be ready.”
The Sharks return to the ice Tuesday in Colorado, one of Lemieux’s former clubs. San Jose begins a three-game homestand Thursday against Phoenix.
Boston, with 71 points, has a chance to tie the Sharks Wednesday in a game at Toronto. Detroit is in third place in the race for the President’s Cup with 68 points.
