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Vlasic's 4 points lead Sharks over Red Wings

Nov 18, 2011 - 7:47 AM San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Marc-Edouard Vlasic finished with a goal and three assists, leading the San Jose Sharks to a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at HP Pavilion.

"It was a real nice thing from Vlasic," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said. "He jumped into the play and was making things happen, so it was a great night for him."

Joe Thornton and Brad Winchester had a goal and an assist apiece, while Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell also scored for the Sharks, winners in nine of their last 12 games.

Antti Niemi made 40 saves in the victory.

Niklas Kronwall and Danny Cleary scored for Detroit, which has dropped back- to-back games after winning four straight.

Jimmy Howard allowed four goals on 21 shots to take the loss and Ty Conklin stopped 6-of-7 shots in relief.

"We need to stick together and stay positive," Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg said.

The Red Wings grabbed the lead at 17:23 of the opening period when Kronwall slapped a shot from the point through traffic and past Niemi on a power play.

But the Sharks responded on a shorthanded tally with just 12 seconds remaining in the period.

The Red Wings dumped the puck down into the right corner and looked to get set up, but Thornton beat Kronwall to the puck, took it around behind the net and found Pavelski, who one-timed it home from the slot to tie it at 1-1.

In the second period, it was all San Jose, as the Sharks netted three goals to take a 4-1 lead.

The first goal came at 9:54 when Vlasic picked up the puck in the defensive zone and raced up ice on a 3-on-1. He dished to the left for Logan Couture, who then fed one to the right circle for Thornton and the Sharks captain fired it into the net.

San Jose's next tally came at 12:48 when Vlasic picked up a loose puck to the left of the net, brought it around behind and stuffed it past Howard.

The Sharks capped the dominant period when Mitchell pounced on a rebound in front of the net and chipped it home at 18:18.

In the third period, Winchester made it 5-1 at the 9:32 mark when he picked up a pass from Andrew Murray on the right wing, swooped in on goal and fired it past Conklin low to the far side.

Detroit got one back on the power play at 13:38 when Valtteri Filppula fired a shot from the point that was stopped by Niemi, but Cleary was parked in front for the rebound.

Game Notes

It was just the Sharks' second shorthanded goal of the season...Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk has gone 12 consecutive games without a goal...San Jose won the previous meeting between the teams, 4-2, on October 28...It was Winchester's first goal as a Shark...The Sharks went 0-for-1 on the power play, while Detroit cashed in on two of its three man-advantage chances...San Jose will head to Dallas to face the Stars on Saturday, while Detroit will travel to Los Angeles to battle the Kings, also on Saturday.