Sharks 2 - 3 Ducks
Final - OT
  for this game

Sharks hope to take winning ways to Anaheim

Dec 22, 2014 - 3:57 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Jose Sharks have winning at home down to a science right now.

The Sharks now hope that trend can continue on the road, specifically in Anaheim as they visit the Ducks on Monday night at Honda Center.

San Jose finished off a perfect five-game homestand with Saturdays' 3-2 overtime victory versus the St. Louis Blues. That pushed the Sharks' home winning streak to eight in a row and the club has won nine of its past 10 overall.

The Sharks needed some late heroics to best the Blues. Marc-Edouard Vlasic netted a game-tying goal with 20.6 seconds left in regulation before fellow defenseman Brent Burns ripped a shot past Jake Allen's blocker while on the power play with 38 seconds to go in overtime.

"We buckled down and found a way to get back into it," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said.

Burns netted his 10th goal of the season, tied with Calgary's Dennis Wideman for the most among NHL defenseman this season.

Andrew Desjardins also scored and Antti Niemi stopped 18-of-20 shots for the Sharks, who play their next two games on the road and trail the Ducks by seven points for first place in the Pacific Division.

The Sharks have won the their first two meetings with the Ducks this season, notching a victory both at home and on the road. They have won seven of the past nine encounters overall, but the Sharks' 4-1 road victory on Oct. 26 was only their fourth in the past 13 trips to Anaheim.

Meanwhile, the Ducks are coming off only their second loss in 10 games, a 6-2 setback to the Ottawa Senators on Friday.

After goaltender Frederik Andersen made 20 straight starts in net, Ilya Bryzgalov got his first start with Anaheim since signing with the club on Dec. 9, but allowed six goals on 31 shots.

"It was his first game. Sometimes you have to stay in there and face the medicine," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of Bryzgalov finishing out the game. "He needed a 60-minute game and he played it. (Andersen) has been playing so much, I wasn't going to put him in a game that, in the end, I didn't think we were going to win. It was Bryz's game to win or lose."

Ryan Getzlaf scored twice for a Ducks team that trailed 2-0 just 8:21 into the game and 4-0 by the later stages of the second period.

"We didn't give ourselves much of a chance when we give up two goals in the first 10 minutes," said Getzlaf. "None of us played well, myself included. I expect better out of our group come Monday."

Getzlaf has four goals and four assists over a five-game point streak and has logged 18 points over his previous 11 games. That span began with a one-goal, three-point game versus the Sharks in a 6-4 home loss on Nov. 29.

Andersen is likely to start for the Ducks tonight in search of his first career win versus the Sharks. He has lost all four previous meetings with a 4.41 goals against average and .860 save percentage.

Niemi is 12-9-0 versus the Ducks with a 2.58 GAA and .907 save percentage.

Anaheim's Hampus Lindholm did not play on Friday due to a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.






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