Canucks send Sharks to fourth straight loss

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SAN JOSE, CA (NEWS1130) – The Vancouver Canucks scored three goals on 12 shots in the first period and Roberto Luongo was great in the third as they earned a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks.

The Canucks snapped a slump against San Jose that saw them lose the previous nine meetings between the two teams. That includes the Sharks’ first round sweep in the 2013 playoffs.

Luongo wasn’t very busy in the first 40 minutes, stopping nine of the 11 shots he faced in the opening two periods. He turned aside all 13 shots San Jose fired his way in the third, including a huge toe stop on Logan Couture around the eight-minute mark.

The Sharks got on the board just over a minute in with a wild bounce. Joe Thornton’s dump-in caught an edge on the boards, bounced up and over the Canucks goal, hit Luongo and went in. It was San Jose’s first shot of the game.

Vancouver responded on its first shot of the game a little over three minutes later. Brad Richardson beat Antti Niemi on a nice feed from Darren Archibald.

The Canucks took their first lead of the game just before the midway mark in the opening period, as Mike Santorelli banged in a rebound for his fifth goal of the season.

San Jose got back on level terms quickly as Mike Brown scored on a two-on-none break with James Sheppard.

Vancouver took the lead for good with just over a minute to play in the first. Chris Higgins jumped on a loose puck and fired it up and over Niemi to make it 3-2.

The Canucks increased their lead 5:22 into the second period. Kevin Bieksa’s point shot hit Zack Kassian’s skate and beat Niemi for their fourth goal on 12 shots. Niemi was pulled in favour of back-up Alex Stalock. Stalock stopped all 21 shots he faced in relief.

Canucks captain Henrik Sedin saw his career-high 12-game point streak come to an end as he failed to reach the scoresheet.

Vancouver continues its road trip on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, and wraps up the trip on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks.

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