The Vancouver Canucks (23-21-6) went to San Jose, California to play the Sharks (22-21-5) on Thursday night, looking for their 13th road win and San Jose their 12 home victory of the season, to end a four game losing streak.
Vancouver entered the game with points in 7 of their last 10 games, looking for their third win in their last four games.
It wasn’t pretty or an easy victory for the Canucks. Vancouver started the game with a 2-0 lead after the first period, then San Jose took them to overtime after regulation, on a goal at 19:59, where J.T. Miller then scored the winning goal at 2:39 of sudden death to give Vancouver a 5-4 OT win.
J.T. Miller (1-1=2), Quinn Hughes (1-1=2), and Elias Pettersson (0-2=2) led the Canucks. Other goals came from Juhu Lammikko, Conor Garland and Brock Boeser. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Kyle Burroughs picked up assists.
Thatcher Demko started in net for Vancouver and was 24 for 28 in shots saved; 19 for 21 at even strength, with a .857 save percentage (SV%), while the Sharks went with James Reimer in net.
It took most of the opening period before the opening goal was scored and it would be Brock Boeser (15) giving the Canucks a 1-0 advantage over the home team Sharks at 14:54 from J.T. Miller (32) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (11).
Less than three minutes later, Quinn Hughes (3) back from missing three games due to COVID protocol, made it 2-0, unassisted at 17:40.
Vancouver entered the second period up by two goals at 2-0, looking to continue adding to their shots total against the Sharks (15-4, in the opening period) and put the game out of reach for their hosts by adding a few more goals.
Instead a mistake by Canucks defensemen Tyler Myers put the Sharks on the scoreboard and within a goal at 2-1. Logan Couture with the goal, his 15th of the season.
The Canucks did not register a shot on net in the middle frame until the they scored to make it 3-1 off the hip of Juhu Lammikko (5) from a shot by Kyle Burroughs (3) at 10:49.
On the power play the Sharks would score at 14:03, pulling back to within a goal at 3-2. Timo Meier with his 22nd goal of the season, on a shot that Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko was not happy he let in.
San Jose would revisit the power play before the end of the middle frame at 18:53, trying to get the tying goal before the end of the period but the man advantage would carry into the third period, with the Canucks continuing to lead 3-2.
The Sharks would make it two for two on the power play and even up the game at 3-3 at 45 seconds of the final period of regulation play on a shot by Timo Meier, his second of the game and 23rd of the season.
The Canucks were in dire straits with only 6 shots on goal between the end of the first period and the half way point of the third period, and the Sharks going back on the power play for a third time in the game, at 10:36 on a hooking penalty by J.T. Miller, and perfect in the game with the man advantage but that would end as Vancouver would kill off the Miller penalty.
Shortly after the penalty kill, the Canucks would swarm the front of the Sharks net, and get the go ahead goal to make it 4-3 at 14:23 by Conor Garland (12), assisted by Elias Pettersson (15).
With time winding down, it was predictable that San Jose would pull their goalie, but the Sharks were having problems doing it, going into the final minute without being able to put out an extra man out to get the some chances for the tying goal.
With 38 seconds left, they did, and the game went to the final second of regulation and with six tenths of a second left, the Sharks tied it up 4-4, to send the game into overtime.
The goal scored by Alexander Barabanov at 19:59.
In overtime, and with a delayed penalty to San Jose, J.T. Miller with the Canucks with the extra man advantage with Demko on the bench, scores the winning goal, assisted by Elias Pettersson (16) and Quinn Hughes (33), a 5-4 Vancouver sudden death win.
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