Smith scores twice, Sharks rally in third period to stun Canucks

SAN JOSE -- Will Smith scored twice for the San Jose Sharks, who scored three goals in a 2:50 span in the third period en route to a 3-2 come-from-behind win against the Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center on Thursday.

Smith scored a power-play goal at 8:00 of the third period to cut the deficit to 2-1. After taking a puck at the right point from San Jose defenseman Dmitry Orlov, Smith walked in and fired a wrist shot past Vancouver goalie Leevi Merilainen's blocker.

"We're trying to get the crowd into it, and then I think it just kind of loosened up the guys a little bit," Smith said. "Everyone's kind of gripping their stick a little tight. We just want to go out there and have fun."

Smith scored his second goal at 10:39 to tie it 2-2. Michael Kesselring's shot from the point went wide, but Macklin Celebrini tapped it in front, and Smith one-timed it over Merilainen's glove.

Mason Marchment put San Jose ahead 3-2 just 11 seconds later at 10:50. He got the puck on the left wing, skated down the boards, and fired a wrist shot that deflected in off the bottom of Merilainen's glove.

Marchment also had an assist, and Yaroslav Askarov made 23 saves for the Sharks (7-6-1), who snapped a two-game losing streak.

"The message was pretty clear: just go play, loosen up a little bit. I think we were trying to choke out a goal and choke out a win," San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "We were gripping it really tight. You could see it, you could feel it."

Drew O'Connor and Liam Ohgren scored for the Canucks (3-11-1), who are 1-10-1 in their past 12 games. Merilainen made 21 saves.

"It continues to be the biggest problem with our group is the lack of details in key moments," Vancouver coach Manny Malhotra said. "Face-off details once again plague us. The PK didn't get the shot block we needed."

O'Connor put the Canucks up 1-0 at 13:21 of the first period. Forward Elias Pettersson kept the puck in at the blue line, and his wrist shot kicked off Askarov's right pad back in front, and O'Connor tapped it in while he was crashing the net.

"I think our third period wasn't good enough, obviously," O'Connor said. "I don't think we did the same thing we did in the first two periods. Just didn't manage the puck well enough in key areas."

Ohgren scored for the second straight game to push the lead to 2-0 at 18:56 of the second period. He took the puck in from the right boards, and his wrist shot from the slot beat Askarov over the blocker.

Sharks forward Filip Bystedt, who was recalled from San Jose of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, was minus-1 and had two shots on goal in 10:28 of ice time in his NHL debut. The 22-year-old was selected in the first round (No. 27) of the 2022 NHL Draft.

"It was awesome. Exactly how you dream it to be. Good day," Bystedt said.

NOTES: The Sharks recorded a multigoal, third-period comeback regulation win for the first time since Oct. 23, 2018 (5-4 win at the Nashville Predators). It was also their second multi-goal, third-period comeback win of the season and tied the Buffalo Sabres for the most among all clubs. The last time San Jose had more in a season was 2015-16 (three). ... Smith and Marchment's goals tied for the seventh-fastest two goals in Sharks history. The last time San Jose scored two faster goals was Dec. 9, 2022 (0:08). ... The Sharks placed forwards Igor Chernyshov and Alexander Wennberg on injured reserve on Wednesday. ... Pettersson extended his point streak to six games (two goals, five assists).