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Marleau helps Sharks rally in overtime

Jan 21, 2009 - 7:47 AM By Michael Duca PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- The third time was a charm for All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo - until the San Jose Sharks once again used their home-ice advantage.

Captain Patrick Marleau scored a power-play goal with 1:52 left in overtime to help the Sharks post a thrilling 2-1 victory over Luongo and the reeling Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

Marleau also helped set up Devin Setoguchi's game-tying tally with 40 seconds remaining in the third period, spoiling Luongo's bid for his sixth shutout of the season.

"We stuck with it and got it done at the end there," Marleau said.

All-Star Joe Thornton notched two assists and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 13 shots for the Sharks, who improved to 22-1-2 at home. San Jose was handed its first regular-season regulation loss at HP Pavilion in over 11 months with a 3-2 setback to Calgary on Thursday but bounced back with a 6-5 win over Detroit two nights later.

"The two games we've played in the past 72 hours have been complete opposites," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "Saturday was up and down with lots of offense, and tonight was 'dump it out and wait with five guys in the neutral zone.'

"I didn't think our skill level allowed us to play in that type of game. Our passing was poor, our receiving was poor and, as a result, we were slow. We were lucky to pull the goalie and score, and win in overtime."

Taylor Pyatt scored in the first period and Luongo made 27 saves for Vancouver, which has lost six in a row (0-4-2) for the first time since March 13-25, 1999.

The Canucks have struggled immensely of late, and the addition of Mats Sundin has not helped turn things around. With Tuesday's crushing defeat, they fell to 1-4-2 since his arrival following a high-profile, nine-month layoff.

Despite being outshot, 15-8, through two periods and having to kill three power plays, the Canucks clearly were being lifted by Luongo, who played in his third straight contest after missing more than seven weeks with a groin injury.

"We worked like animals for 59 minutes," Luongo said. "We were playing exactly the type of game we wanted to be playing against these guys. Everything was going the way we wanted it to, so it's unfortunate they got that goal at the end."

Luongo was masterful throughout, shrugging off rust that caused him to fizzle in a 4-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday and a 6-5 shootout setback to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

That momentum ended, though, when Setoguchi forged a tie. After receiving a cross-slot pass from Thornton, Setoguchi beat Luongo from the right faceoff circle for his 21st goal of the season.

"I saw the pass coming," said Setoguchi, who will play in the NHL's YoungStars Game in Montreal as part of the All-Star Weekend festivities. "I just wanted to get it on net. (Luongo) didn't move laterally quite fast enough, so I just wanted to get it on net as quickly as I could."

The tally forced the extra session and helped San Jose avoid walking away without a point at home for the second time since February 14.

"I think it was lucky," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said of Setoguchi's game-tying goal. "That pass went through three players and he didn't have much to shoot at, but they tied it up. And on the winning goal, I thought they should have blown it dead. You can't be poking your stick under the goalie, but obviously, the two referees saw it differently."

Marleau secured two points for the Sharks when he fired the puck past Luongo after receiving a feed from the left corner by Thornton. It was Marleau's league-leading eighth game-winning goal of the campaign and second in as many contests.

"(San Jose All-Star defenseman) Dan Boyle's spin caused (Daniel Sedin) to get his stick up and take the hooking penalty," Marleau said. "(Thornton) made a good pass to let me finally get my third shot (of the power play) into the back of the net."

The win made for a successful return to the NHL for the 43-year-old Claude Lemieux, who retired in 2003 following a 21-year career in which he won four Stanley Cup championships but began a comeback during a brief stint earlier this season with a team in China owned by the Sharks.

"Claude played well," McLellan said. "He wasn't a liability at all. He finished his checks and skated well, which is something we were looking for. I think he is going to feel good about himself after one game. We do."

Lemieux then spent two months at Worcester of the American Hockey League, where he recorded three goals and eight assists in 23 games, before being recalled by San Jose on Monday.

In 7 minutes, 8 seconds of action, Lemieux registered three shots on goal.

"You can only imagine," Lemieux said. "I've been dreaming about this since the day I retired, so to speak. Great building, great night to have the opportunity to play with such a great team. These fans are unbelievable. Honoring me on my first shift meant a lot to me."

Pyatt opened the scoring with 7:22 remaining in the opening period, but Vancouver dropped its 12th game this season when scoring first.