Canucks down Sharks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Taylor Pyatt scored on a power play midway through the second period and set up Daniel Sedin’s winning goal two minutes later as the Vancouver Canucks rallied to beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Sunday night.

Brendan Morrison added an empty-net goal with 9.5 seconds left, and Roberto Luongo stopped 39 shots as the Canucks improved to 11-1-2 since Dec. 25 and moved into first place in the Northwest Division, one point ahead of Calgary.

Rookie Joe Pavelski scored his 10th goal, and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 20 shots for the Sharks, who lost for just the third time in 11 games to fall four points behind Anaheim in the race for the Pacific Division lead.

Luongo kept the Canucks scoreless with a series of spectacular saves on Tomas Plihal and Mark Smith midway through the first period. But Pavelski opened the scoring 1:10 into the second, beating a pair of defenders to a rebound in the slot and batting a backhand under Luongo.

Luongo again kept Vancouver in it while being outshot 23-9 in the second, sprawling to stop Marcel Goc on a rebound to his right, then getting back in time to stop Goc as he came around the net and out on the other side.

Luongo was also the biggest reason the Canucks’ top-ranked penalty kill stopped all five chances against a Sharks power play that is No. 1 in the NHL and clicking at almost 40 percent over the last 10 games. The All-Star goalie robbed Patrick Marleau twice on consecutive power plays midway through the second as the Canucks extended their perfect penalty kill streak to 33 over six games.

Vancouver was being outshot 17-5 at that point of the second period, but scored on the next two shots. First, it was Pyatt tying the game it on a power-play breakaway at 12:31 after he slipped behind the defense at the Sharks blue line to take Markus Naslund’s long pass, and beat Nabokov with a shot between the legs.

Pyatt set up the winning goal just over two minutes later, driving wide down the right side and slipping a backhand pass back to the top of the crease, where Sedin shoveled a fluttering puck up and over Nabokov’s right shoulder.

Vancouver tightened up in the third, allowing just three shots through the first 14 minutes, and six overall, despite a pair of San Jose power plays.

Notes: Pyatt’s 14th goal matched a single-season career high set in 78 games with Buffalo in 2002-03. ... San Jose has played 49 straight games without going to overtime, the longest run in the NHL since the five-minute extra period was instituted in 1983-84. ... It was the 13th straight game the Canucks have been outshot, but they are 10-1-2 in that time. ... Nabokov, taking his turn in San Jose’s back-and-forth goaltending rotation with Vesa Toskala, has been in net for all three losses in the last 11 games, but the Sharks only scored three total goals in those games.