Canucks recover for OT win against Sharks after blowing lead late

SAN JOSE -- The Vancouver Canucks recovered after blowing a lead with 0.6 seconds left in the third period to defeat the San Jose Sharks 5-4 in overtime at SAP Center on Thursday.

J.T. Miller won it at 2:39 during a delayed penalty after Alexander Barabanov tied it 4-4 for San Jose.
"To give it up with less than a second [left] was pretty upsetting, but we got the two points," Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I don't know if we deserved it, but sometimes those are the games you need to get a jump-start."

Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist after missing three games in COVID-19 protocol, and Thatcher Demko made 24 saves for the Canucks (23-21-6), who have won two of three.
"We didn't have our A-game, but fortunate to grind out a win," Canucks forward Conor Garland said. "They came out hard. They probably weren't at their best in the first. We knew they would come out and challenge."
Timo Meier had two goals and an assist, Barabanov had a goal and two assists, and James Reimer made 22 saves for the Sharks (22-21-5), who have lost five straight (0-2-3).
"I think if we play the way we did the last two periods we're going to get our fair share of points down the stretch," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. "But we've got to start on time."

Brock Boeser gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 14:54 of the first period with his fifth goal in the past eight games. Miller set Boeser up with a cross-ice pass and the forward picked the corner on Reimer's glove side.
Hughes increased the lead to 2-0 at 17:40 with a shot through traffic from the left face-off circle.
Logan Couture cut it to 2-1 at 3:35 of the second period when his shot redirected off the stick of Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers.
"We went from maybe playing our best first period of the year to all of a sudden collapsing, knowing they'd come out sharper in the second period," Boudreau said. "It was our lack of energy and composure in the second period that got to me."
Juho Lammikko made it 3-1 at 10:49 when he tipped a shot by Kyle Burroughs from between the circles.

Meier cut it to 3-2 on a power play at 14:03 with a slap shot from the left face-off circle. He then tied it 3-3 with another power-play goal 45 seconds into the third period.
"All I care about is the team's points, and we've got to get some wins here," Meier said. "Tonight we got a point, but in the last few games we didn't play our best, so we've got to start now or else it's going to be a long, long season. I think we've got to fix things, and tonight I think it's a step in the right direction."
Garland gave Vancouver a 4-3 lead at 14:23.
"We didn't play too bad, so it was sticking to the system and not trying to get away from it when you're down goals," Meier said. "We did a good job with that, we stuck with it. We got a point out at the end. Obviously frustrating losing in overtime, but I think tonight we showed a lot of character."
NOTES:It was Miller's third overtime goal this season, one behind the Canucks record held by Markus Naslund (2003-04) and Daniel Sedin (2006-07). … Miller has scored six points (three goals, three assists) in his past four games. … Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (two goals, five assists). … Barabanov tied Evander Kane (Jan. 22, 2019) for the latest game-tying goal in Sharks history (59:59).