Couture, Labanc Help Lead Sharks Past Hurricanes
SAN JOSE (CBS/AP) -- San Jose's worst played game of the week delivered the best result for the Sharks.
Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc scored less than 2 minutes apart in the second period and the Sharks bounced back from consecutive losses by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday night.
"When you look at the week out of the three games we played, it was probably our poorest of the three," coach Peter DeBoer said. "But we found a way to win, and the other two we lost, maybe we deserved better. That's hockey."
Patrick Marleau scored 12 seconds into the game and Paul Martin added his first goal of the season for the Sharks, who had allowed late tiebreaking goals in their previous two games to lose to Ottawa and Anaheim.
Backup goalie Aaron Dell made 30 saves to earn his third win in four starts this season. His only loss was a 1-0 defeat in Carolina last month but he got much more support this game.
"It's always nice to get some good bounces like that," Martin said. "Most of the season we've been creating chances, getting pucks to the net. At some point it's nice to get rewarded for that kind of stuff when guys are working hard and creating opportunities."
Lee Stempniak and Derek Ryan scored power-play goals and Joakim Nordstrom added a short-handed tally but it wasn't enough for the Hurricanes, who earned three points on their three-game California swing. Cam Ward made 16 saves.
"They had momentum right off the bat," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We were chasing the game most of the night."
After a lackluster start to the second period for San Jose with no shots in the first 8 minutes and then allowing a game-tying short-handed goal by Nordstrom, the Sharks took control with a quick flurry.
Seconds after Ryan returned from a slashing penalty, Brent Burns kept the puck in at the point and sent a shot toward net that Couture deflected past Ward for his 11th of the season.
Just 1:52 later, Labanc came on the ice after Marleau broke a stick and skated right toward the net. That put him in perfect position to knock the rebound of Dylan DeMelo's into an open net to make it 4-2.
Ryan cut the deficit to one when he scored on the power play early in the third period after Brenden Dillon was sent off for cross-checking Sebastian Aho well behind the play.
Carolina nearly got another power play later in the period when Burns was called for hooking, but Jeff Skinner also got sent off when the referee called him for embellishment.
The Hurricanes pushed for the equalizer late but Dell stopped Jeff Skinner's 11th shot on goal of the night to seal the win.
"we're always trying to battle back and get back in the game as best we can and I thought we did a good job in the third at least to make it interesting," defenseman Matt Tennyson said.
The game got off to an action-packed start with three goals in the opening 3:14. Marleau started it when Justin Braun sprung Joe Thornton on a 2 on 1 to set up the quick score.
The teams then traded goals shortly after that with Stempniak scoring first goal in 23 games on the power play before Martin's point shot deflected off defenseman Brett Pesce's skate to put San Jose back ahead.
NOTES: The fastest goal in Sharks history came 8 seconds into the game by Stephane Matteau on Jan. 11, 2000, against St. Louis. ... Carolina's top-ranked penalty kill unit has four short-handed goals this season, while allowing only six power-play goals. ... Sharks D Marc-Edouard Vlasic left in the second period with a lower-body injury and is day to day.
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Sharks: Start a four-game trip at Toronto on Tuesday.
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