Pavelski, Hertl lead Sharks over Canucks 4-1

Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic had two assists for the Sharks, who are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.

“Being up 1-0 in a game like this, when we know it’s a chance for us to get closer (go the playoffs), and that happens, it’s disappointing”, he said.

However, San Jose would respond in the third as their captain would get them on the board. “With a team that’s chasing us, we had a good opportunity here to put them at a pretty good distance”. A game like this we have to come out harder, make a push, and they just kept coming.

San Jose sits third in the Pacific Division, 12 points up on the fading Canucks, who are eight back of the Colorado Avalanche for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot.

“We were a bit passive”, said defenceman Luca Sbisa. “It’s a must-win if you want to stay in the (playoff) race”.

Trailing 1-0 after the second intermission, the Sharks tied things at 4:21 of the third when Pavelski stepped around Sbisa before beating Miller for his 27th of the season. Braun took a shot from the blue line that Hertl deflected past Miller at 6:49 for his 15th of the year. Luckily, Martin Jones was able to hold the fort long enough for San Jose’s forwards to wake up in the final 20 minutes of play.

They relied on their big guns to get the job done, as Tomas Hertl and Joe Pavelski scored the decisive goals and Patrick Marleau padded the lead.

Head coach Peter DeBoer credited veterans like Pavelski, Marleau and center Joe Thornton for stepping up their play when it was needed most.

Jones, a North Vancouver native, was making his first career start against the Canucks as he played in the building that his father, Harvey, is responsible for maintaining and operating. “But then we made some mistakes in the third, they get a 5-on-3 for a minute-and-a-half and the game is over”. We didn’t have a lot of energy, we weren’t creating much. Let’s see if San Jose can carry over anything from their third period to help them secure two points on home ice. They have sparked us a few nights.

After a scoreless first period, Vancouver opened the scoring at 3:03 of the second moments after a Sharks penalty expired when Sedin jammed a puck past Jones from the side of the net for his 23rd. The Sharks lost to Buffalo 3-1 on Friday in a game with no penalties – the first such contest in San Jose club history.2. The Sharks and Canucks also meet March 29 in Vancouver and two days after that in San Jose. The Canucks, who have lost seven straight to the Sharks at home, could be sellers as Monday’s trade deadline approaches as defenseman Dan Hamhuis and forward Radim Vrbata appear to be hot commodities. The 33-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and has a no-movement clause in his contract, but has indicated he would consider a move if it was the right situation.

“For the first two periods we had total control”, Daniel Sedin said. We certainly took ourselves out of it when that third goal went in.

Left winger Daniel Sedin scored for the Canucks (24-25-12), who saw a two-game win streak snapped.