In a strange move Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault decided to start Corey Schneider in goal for the first time in series over Roberto Luongo. A move that didn’t make sense as he was their best player so far in the 2013 NHL Playoffs and it showed tonight.
The San Jose Sharks did have a bit of a scare in the first period Patrick Marleau went off for a high-sticking penalty and gave the Canucks 4-3 as Tom Sestito and Adam Burish were already in the penalty box. With the open ice, Vancouver didn’t find success. That came back in a big way later on the period.
Dale Weise found himself getting penalized and shortly after that another penalty on the Canucks led to a 5-3 advantage. After a bit of a slow start with the two-man advantage Joe Thornton found Logan Couture who fed Joe Pavelski for a quick flick of the puck into the back of the net for the only goal of the period.
A great effort on the defensive end rewarded Pavelski again as Scott Hannan got the puck to Tommy Wingels. As he got hit he put a shot towards the net and in the perfect spot for the beautiful goal. Yet, that momentum didn’t last long as a turnover got the Canucks right back in the game as Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin got the puck to Alex Burrows who easily beat Antti Niemi to cut the Sharks advantage to 2-1.
Just before the period ended Jannik Hansen got called for a high-stick. With the man advantage to start the third period, Matt Irwin found the open Couture streaking down the side with no defender near him. He found a spot on the ice where he could get the angle he needed and put the Sharks 3-1. Nine seconds after Patrick Marleau scored while being tripped.
After another penalty by Vancouver, Couture scored his second goal of the game as Thornton and Pavelsi got assists. Dan Hamuis finished off the scoring.
With the win the Sharks are up 3-0 in the series and look to sweep the Canucks on Tuesday night in San Jose.