Canucks move atop Western Conference with win over Sharks
VANCOUVER -- Andrei Kuzmenko got an early gift for the holidays after being restored to his team's top line and thanked his coaches by scoring two goals in a 7-4 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
Nils Aman, Sam Lafferty, Dakota Joshua, Pius Suter and Quinn Hughes each added a goal to secure the victory and stave off San Jose's comeback bid. Thatcher Demko stopped 21 of 25 for Vancouver.
The Canucks head into the NHL Christmas break leading the Western Conference with 49 points, two more than the Vegas Golden Knights, and three more than the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.
Kuzmenko scored both of his goals in the first period, the first coming less than two minutes into the game and the second roughly five minutes later.
His first came after seizing a puck redirected by the skates of San Jose's Mikael Granlund and firing home a wrist shot. His second came when he tipped a long shot from J.T. Miller on the power play to make it 2-0.
The Sharks responded quickly, with Anthony Duclair getting San Jose's opener, firing through Granlund's legs on Thatcher Demko's blocker side. Tomas Hertl made id 2-2 three minutes later after Demko kicked out a long shot.
Fabian Zetterlund added a third at 11:08 of the second period finding open space in front of Demko to finish the chance, while Joshua scored Vancouver's fifth in the final minute of the second period.
Jacob MacDonald added a fourth goal for the Sharks at 13:16 of the third period.
Quinn Hughes finished the scoring with an empty-net goal for Vancouver at 19:47.
Mackenzie Blackwood saved 19 of 25 shots for San Jose and Mario Ferraro had three assists in a game for the first time in his NHL career.
UP NEXT
Sharks: Visit the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
