Canucks double up Sharks to stay in playoff hunt

Following two road wins earlier in the week, the Vancouver Canucks kept their slim playoff hopes alive when they beat the visiting San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Saturday night.

Jason Dickinson, Conor Garland, Alex Chiasson and Luke Schenn scored the goals for Vancouver. Tomas Hertl and Nick Bonino replied for San Jose (29-33-9).

Thatcher Demko made 34 saves for the Canucks (35-28-10), reaching the 30-win mark for the first time for his career. In the Sharks net, Kaapo Kahkonen made 35 saves, but saw his record drop to 0-3-0 since he was acquired from the Minnesota Wild at the March 21 trade deadline.

Vancouver opened the scoring just 2:03 into the first period. Dickinson intercepted an errant pass from Sharks defender Ryan Merkley near centre ice, then streaked down the right wing, deked Kahkonen and deposited the puck into the back of the net. It was his fourth goal of the year and his first since returning to action earlier this week, after missing 16 games with a lower-body injury.

At 7:34, Hertl tied the score with the Sharks on a 5-on-3. He banged the rebound of a Timo Meier shot past Demko from close range for his 28th goal of the year.

Chaser with goals in 3 straight games