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Marleau guides Sharks over Canucks

Jan 11, 2009 - 7:18 AM VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) -- Mats Sundin scored his first goal as a Vancouver Canuck, but it was not enough to overcome Patrick Marleau's second straight two-goal performance.

San Jose's captain scored a pair of goals in the third period Saturday to lead the Sharks to a 4-2 victory over the Canucks.

Defenseman Rob Blake and Mike Grier also tallied for the Sharks, who extended their winning streak against the Canucks to six games.

"Our captain stepped up, just like he has to do night in, night out," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "Very happy to see him elevate his game in the third period. He was good all night, but in the third period, he gets us the two goals, and he's done that two nights in a row. As a result, we win games, so credit to him."

Joe Thornton notched two assists and Brian Boucher made 24 saves to halt a personal six-game slide against Vancouver.

"(Boucher) played outstanding for us in the first two periods," Marleau said. "I don't know how many guys he robbed around the net, but he played great, held us in the game and allowed us to play a hard 20 (minutes) at the end and get us the win."

"We haven't played as well as we'd like on the road," said Boucher, who had been 0-5-1 in his previous six games vs. the Canucks. "It's not like our road record is devastating, but at the same time, we know we can play better. ... Through two periods, we weren't really happy with the way we played, and we knew we could do a better job. We had 20 minutes to do that, and thankfully, we turned it on in the third."

Daniel Sedin scored for the Canucks, who fell to 0-3-1 in their last four home games.

"We definitely need to get better at home," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. "That is something that we have been talking about. I think tonight might be a step in the right direction, in the first two periods."

"I thought we worked hard. I thought we played a pretty good game," Sundin said. "They got some good, lucky breaks. ... We competed against the best team in our conference, and if we had a little bit of luck, some bounces, we could have won that game."

After failing to reach the 20-goal plateau for the first time in seven seasons in 2007-08, Marleau eclipsed last campaign's total of 19 with two in San Jose's 4-1 triumph over Edmonton on Friday. The 29-year-old duplicated the feat in this one, reaching the 23-goal mark and leading the Sharks to their Western Conference-leading 31st win of the season and sixth in nine games.

"Tonight was pretty lucky bounces," he said. "I'll take those whenever I can get them."

With the game even at 2-2, Marleau put San Jose ahead with a power-play goal midway through the third.

Alone on the right side of the crease, Thornton refused to shoot, instead moving into the slot and passing to Dan Boyle. The All-Star defenseman fired a shot that caromed off the right skate of Marleau and past goaltender Curtis Sanford at 9:28.

"I wanted the puck, and it was kind of a broken play, obviously," Boyle said. "Lucky bounce. We had a couple tonight."

"I think my foot turned up as it hit me," Marleau said. "Woody (assistant coach Jay Woodcroft) upstairs called to the bench and said, 'That's definitely a goal.' When it happens like that, you hope it stands."

Following a video review, Marleau was credited with his 22nd of the campaign, giving the Sharks a 3-2 edge.

"By the looks of it, there's a kicking intention, but the puck had already found its way between my pads before you could actually see the kicking motion," Sanford said. "I think that was the determining factor."

San Jose doubled its advantage thanks to a miscue by Vancouver.

Canucks defenseman Alex Edler committed a turnover behind his own net, and Tomas Plihal grabbed the loose puck and dished it to Marleau, who beat Sanford with a backhander from the doorstep with 2:06 remaining to seal the win.

"I think we wanted to come out in the third and play a good, hard 20 (minutes)," Marleau said. "It was tied going in there and we wanted to try and get the win."

Blake opened the scoring with 2:23 left in the first period, sending a backhander from the left faceoff circle in front, where it ricocheted off the skate of Vancouver's Ryan Kesler and into the net for a man-advantage goal.

"Both their power-play goals were deflections," Vigneault said. "One was off our skate, the other one was off their skate. They got a couple of bounces. They worked hard and they got those bounces."

Playing in his third game with the Canucks after signing a one-year contract on December 18, Sundin forged a tie in the waning seconds of the period.

After defenseman Kevin Bieksa's shot from the right point was blocked, the puck found its way to the 37-year-old Swede, who drilled it into the net from the left circle during a power play with eight seconds left in the first.

"Mats is going to be a huge lift for us," Vancouver defenseman Mattias Ohlund said. "He's such a good player and a quality guy. We're going to have to give him some time, but you can tell by the way he played today he's going to be a big, big part of our team."

Grier scored his fourth goal in as many games two minutes into the second session, slapping a rolling puck past Sanford to give San Jose a 2-1 edge.

"(The puck) was up on edge when he shot it," Sanford said. "Whiffed the ball past me. I'd like to have that one back."

But Sedin converted a pass from defenseman Shane O'Brien with 5:27 remaining in the period to again knot the contest.

Sanford turned aside 23 shots for the Canucks, who have won just one of their last five games (1-2-2).