WINNIPEG – Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets Monday night.
Joe Pavelski won an offensive zone faceoff to Logan Couture, who set up Vlasic to snipe the winning goal past Jets goaltender Michael Hutchinson.
Brent Burns and Melker Karlsson also scored for the Sharks, while Andrew Ladd and Jay Harrison replied for the Jets.
The clubs entered the night holding both of the Western Conference’s wild card playoff spots. The Sharks (21-14-5) moved into a tie with Vancouver and Los Angeles for second in the Pacific Division.
Harrison’s shot from the high slot on the power play got through Antti Niemi’s pads at 4:03 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2.
The Jets (20-13-7) needed to kill two penalties in the final 10 minutes as Ladd was called for illegal contact to Karlsson’s head and Paul Postma took a delay-of-game minor.
Hutchinson, who entered the game leading the league in save percentage and goals-against average, stopped 34 of 37 shots. Making his fifth start in six games, Hutchinson continued to see an increased workload at the expense of longtime starter Ondrej Pavelec.
Niemi made 17 saves on 19 shots in his eighth start in nine games.
The teams traded power-play goals in the first period, with Burns opening the scoring at 2:53. Joe Pavelski won an offensive zone faceoff, and two passes later Burns hammered home a slap shot from the point for his 11th goal of the season.
Ladd took a pass in the high slot from Bryan Little and beat Niemi to his glove side for his 15th goal of the season at 9:17.
The Sharks had a 13-4 advantage in shots after the first period, limiting the Jets to only one even-strength shot.
Pavelski floated a shot from the right boards that Karlsson tipped down and through Hutchinson’s pads to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead early in the second period.
The Jets begin a three-game West Coast road swing Thursday in Arizona, while the Sharks continue their three-game trip Tuesday in Minnesota.
Notes: San Jose centre Joe Thornton missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury. Thornton was placed on the injured list after playing in 319 consecutive games. … Grant Clitsome missed the game with an undisclosed injury, making it five Winnipeg defencemen on the shelf. Call-up Julien Brouillette made his first start as a Jet. … Winnipeg forward Michael Frolik went to the dressing room following a hard check late in the second period, but returned at the start of the third.
Source:: Metro News
