Music: {allcanada} Miller makes 31 saves to help Canucks top Sharks

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

{allcanada} Miller makes 31 saves to help Canucks top Sharks

The Hangover Part III / Nothing Was the Same - Drake

SAN JOSE -- Bo Horvat, Jannik Hansen and Radim Vrbata each scored a goal, and Ryan Miller made 31 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday.

Vancouver (21-11-3) ended the Sharks' eight-game home winning streak and handed them their third straight loss overall. San Jose (19-13-5) is on its longest losing streak since a four-game skid Nov. 18-26.

Sharks center Joe Thornton scored on a penalty shot in the second period.

Miller improved to 9-1-1-0 in 11 career games against the Sharks, including 2-0-0 this season. He made 34 saves against the Sharks at SAP Center on Nov. 6 in a 3-2 victory.

Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock, making his first start since Dec. 11, made 18 saves.

San Jose entered the game with the NHL's No. 2 power play, but went 0-for-4 with the man advantage against Vancouver, which had no power-play opportunities.

The Canucks took a 1-0 lead at 3:08 of the first period on Horvat's second NHL goal. The rookie spun and fired a shot from the left circle into heavy traffic. The puck banked off Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon's skate and, as Sharks forward Alexandre Burrows jammed away, trickled past Stalock.

The Sharks outshot Vancouver 11-7 in the first period, but their best chance to score came on a penalty shot by Joe Pavelski at 8:28 that hit the crossbar and bounced over the net. Pavelski took a long pass from Thornton and was on a breakaway when Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler tripped him from behind.

Vancouver increased its lead to 2-0 at 3:05 of the second period on Hansen's ninth goal. Hansen had been in the penalty box for an illegal check to Sharks forward Tommy Wingels' head. He sprinted out of the box at the end of a penalty kill, took a pass from Edler and scored on a breakaway.

San Jose cut Vancouver's lead to 2-1 at 4:36 of the second when Thornton scored on a penalty shot, banking the puck off the left post and past Miller. Thornton was on a breakaway when Canucks defenseman Christopher Tanev dove in front of him, sending Thornton to the ice.

The penalty-shot goal was San Jose's first in five years, to the day, and ended an 0-for-7 streak, including three this season. Former Sharks forward Ryane Clowe scored in the second period and Thornton in the third on penalty shots Dec. 30, 2009, at SAP Center in a 5-2 victory against the Washington Capitals in San Jose's only other game with two penalty shots.

Vancouver answered at 7:09 of the second period with Vrbata's 14th goal. He took a shot from the left circle that deflected off Stalock's glove and into the net, giving the Canucks a 3-1 lead.

The Sharks pulled Stalock with 2:30 left in the game, but even with the extra attacker, they couldn't get the puck past Miller again.

Sharks forward Matt Nieto was activated from injured reserve Tuesday and returned to the lineup after missing nine games with an ankle injury. He skated on the fourth line.

Defenseman Matt Irwin was in the lineup for San Jose after sitting eight games as a healthy scratch.

Pure Heroine - Lorde / NEW (Deluxe Edition) - Paul McCartney