SAN JOSE — Drew O’Connor scored on a penalty shot 33 seconds into time beyond regulation to carry the Vancouver Canucks to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Heart on Thursday.
After Macklin Celebrini was referred to as for hooking on a breakaway in time beyond regulation, O’Connor beat Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek with a wrist shot to the glove facet.
With the Sharks down 1-0 and Vanecek pulled for the additional attacker, Tyler Toffoli scored his twentieth objective of the season with 1:28 left within the third interval to ship the sport into time beyond regulation.
Vanecek made 19 saves within the first two intervals earlier than Dakota Joshua scored a power-play objective on the 8:04 mark of the third interval to provide the Canucks a 1-0 loss earlier than an introduced crowd of 11,509 at SAP Heart.
With Celebrini serving a delay of recreation, puck over glass penalty, Joshua stood earlier than Vanecek and redirected a shot from Pius Suter for his third objective of the season.
The Sharks created some high quality scoring probabilities and completed with34 pictures, however as soon as once more had been stymied by Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, who got here into Thursday with a 12-0-0 report and a .922 save proportion in 12 profession video games in opposition to San Jose.
Demko stopped Sharks rookie Will Smith on a breakaway within the first interval and a partial breakaway within the second. Carl Grundstrom additionally had a Grade An opportunity within the third interval close to the Canucks internet, however had a backhand shot stopped as Demko’s shot out his left pad.
The Sharks’ loss was their ninth within the final 10 video games.
Thursday’s begin was the primary for Vanecek since Dec. 14, when he stopped 36 of 40 pictures in a 4-3 Sharks loss to the Utah Hockey Membership. Three days later, he sustained a fractured cheekbone as he was struck within the face by an errant puck that sailed into the Sharks bench in a recreation in opposition to the Winnipeg Jets.
It marked the second straight 12 months Vanecek has needed to miss important time with an harm, as he sat out the ultimate two-plus months of final season witha groin harm that later required surgical procedure.
“I don’t know who is playing (Thursday), but I will be happy to get back for sure,” Vanecek stated Wednesday. “It’s been a long time.”
Vanecek went on a conditioning project with the Barracuda final Friday and stopped 22 of 24 pictures in San Jose’s 6-2 win over Henderson.
Warsofsky had beforehand stated Vanecek would play no less than one recreation earlier than the NHL breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Sunday. The Sharks additionally host Dallas on Saturday to complete a three-game homestand.
Whereas the cheekbone was totally healed when Vanecek acquired again onto the ice once more for follow final month, there was nonetheless the psychological hurdle of what it might be wish to be struck once more within the face by a puck, even whereas carrying a masks.
“For sure, you think about it a little bit,” Vanecek stated. “But if you want to play goal, you have to stop thinking about it and then just play. And then if they hit you in the head, you’re going to see what’s going to happen and let that happen.
“It was a little bit rough, for sure, for the first three practices, but after that, it was pretty good.”
