Pettersson Scores Twice As Canucks Defeat Sharks 4-3

The Vancouver Canucks snapped their three-game losing streak on Monday with a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Elias Pettersson (2), Brock Boeser and Kiefer Sherwood scored for Vancouver, while Thatcher Demko stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced in the win. With the victory, the Canucks move to 17-10-7 on the season while improving their record at home to 7-7-5.

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Monday's win was massive as Pettersson broke his six-game goalless and pointless streak. He scored twice in 44 seconds during the second period, with his second goal looking like a vintage Pettersson snipe. With four shots total, he looked like the Pettersson of old, which is massive for Vancouver moving forward.

The news was not all positive as Pettersson did leave the game early in the third. While there was no sign of when he was injured, Rick Tocchet did mention post-game that Pettersson got banged up during the second period and was unable to continue after his first shift in the third period. While no specific injury was mentioned, Tocchet did say that he doesn't think it is a serious injury.

As for the game itself, it was a physical contest that featured both Tyler Myers and Danton Heinen getting into fights. While there were only 45 total hits, some were massive, including Myers' hit on William Eklund. Overall, the Canucks stood their ground and finished the night with a 27-18 hit advantage over San Jose.

When asked about Heinen's first career fight, Sherwood joked, saying, "I told him he looked like a UFC fighter, just slugging away. I haven't seen that, but I loved it, and it got me going and got everyone going. So that's kind of the emotion and passion that we can build off of."

As for Myers, he spoke post-game about his fight with Barclay Goodrow. Myers said, "I told him after the fight, you know, great job. They were sticking up for their guys tonight. We were sticking up for our guys. It was a hard-fought game. It was a good game. Guys are feisty. It was great to get the two points."

The game was not all positive as Vancouver was outshot 15-4 in the third and 31-24 overall. While the Canucks did hold a 4-1 lead heading into the third, they played the entire final 20 minutes as if they were on the penalty kill, protecting the lead rather than trying to add to it. While this strategy worked tonight against the Sharks, it is something the Canucks should not make a habit of, as stronger teams will be able to take advantage of this defensive play style.

While it wasn't a perfect game, Vancouver did enough to walk away with a victory. With how the team has played recently, these wins are very valuable, especially when they come at Rogers Arena. Now, with a few days off, the hope is that the entire team can get some rest and heal before they return from the holiday break.

Facts and Stats:

- Kiefer Sherwood becomes the first player this season to throw 200 hits

- Elias Pettersson records his 180th career goal and passes Greg Adam's for the 15th most in franchise history

- Elias Pettersson records his 30th career multi-goal game and ties Brock Boeser and Stan Smyl for the sixth most in franchise history

- Quinn Hughes records his 375th career point and passes Petri Skriko into 20th on the franchise's all-time list

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

11:36- SJS: William Eklund (7) from Mikael Granlund and Macklin Celebrini (PPG)
14:10- VAN: Brock Boeser (11) from Quinn Hughes and Vincent Desharnais

2nd Period:

16:42- VAN: Kiefer Sherwood (12) from Teddy Blueger and Nils Höglander
17:08- VAN: Elias Pettersson (9) from Jake DeBrusk and Conor Garland
17:52- VAN: Elias Pettersson (10) from J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes (PPG)

3rd Period:

4:21- SJS: Cody Ceci (2) and Fabian Zetterlund
19:54- SJS: Luke Kunin (10) from Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli

Up Next:

The Canucks will get a few days off to celebrate the holiday's before their next game on Saturday when they face the Seattle Kraken. This will be the first of four meetings between these two Pacific Division rivals and the first of two in the span of less than a week. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 pm PT at Rogers Arena.