Patrick Marleau became the first San Jose Sharks player to score 500 goals and led his team to a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday night.
The Sharks scored the first two goals to build a comfortable 2-0 cushion in the first period.
Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher was called for interference on Mikkel Boedker at 10:45. The Sharks capitalized with the man advantage to take a 1-0 lead at 10:30. Marleau snapped a quick shot past Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller for his 500th career goal and 19th of the season.
Miller stopped a David Schlemko shot from the blue line, but Chris Tierney picked off the rebound and hammered it into the net for his fifth of the season to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead with 4:01 left in the period.
The Sharks outshot the Canucks 13-6 and led 2-0 after 20 minutes.
The Sharks defense kept the team afloat in the second period. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made a notable save, blocking a backhand shot by Jason Megna to prevent a probable Canucks goal.
Two Sharks defensemen followed in Jones’ footsteps in the final seconds of the period. Justin Braun blocked a Brandon Sutter shot and then Schlemko fended off a down-to-the-wire shot by Daniel Sedin.
The Sharks held a 24-22 shot advantage over the Canucks and maintained a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
As an offensive defenseman, Brent Burns scored a goal in eight straight road games. Burns picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Miller for his 22nd of the season, extending the Sharks’ lead to 3-0 just 53 seconds into the third period.
Canucks defenseman Philip Larsen knocked a puck off of Martin Jones’ skate and it went into the net for his first of the season to cut the Sharks’ lead to 3-1 at 13:25.
After officials overturned a call, Tierney scored his sixth of the season, recording his first career two-goal game. As a result, the Sharks expanded their lead to 4-1 at 14:41. The Canucks initially challenged Tierney’s play for goaltender interference, accusing Joel Ward of touching the red part of the blue paint and using his back to touch Miller.
The Sharks (37-17-2) beat the Canucks (23-21-6) by a score of 4-1. Jones finished with 31 saves in the victory.
Miller made 28 saves in a losing effort.
Notes
Scratched: Michael Haley, Tim Heed
Injured: Joonas Donskoi (upper body), Dylan DeMelo (wrist)
Marleau reached the historic 500 goal plateau, scoring his milestone marker against Miller.
Tomas Hertl played his third game after recovering from a knee surgery that kept him out for 32 games.
Up Next
The Sharks return to SAP Center Saturday to host the Arizona Coyotes (16-28-6) at 7:00 p.m. PST on CSCA and FSAZ.
