Pettersson scores twice in 44 seconds, the Canucks hold off the Sharks

Kiefer Sherwood gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead at 16:42 of the second period. He took a pass from Teddy Blueger as he entered the offensive zone and beat Askarov over his blocker with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

“There were a few pucks we didn’t get down low, one puck I couldn’t get behind their D, they turn it up, it’s in the back of our net,” Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow said. “And that gave their team momentum and the next thing you know they scored three goals.”

Petersson made it 3-1 26 seconds later after Askarov grabbed the rebound off a rush chance from Jake DeBrusk in the slot, where the Canucks center was alone and fired a quick shot over the glove at 17:08.

San Jose fought unsuccessfully due to goaltender interference, then took a hooking penalty 12 seconds later, and Pettersson again gained a 5-on-3 man advantage to make it 4-1 at 17:52 by firing over Askarov’s glove from the far right point .

“He’s too good, he’ll break out at some point,” Hughes said of Pettersson. “I’m glad he did it tonight and hope he can enjoy the next few days like we all do, regroup and get going.”

Cody Ceci made it 4-2 at 4:21 of the third period with a slap shot from the top of the right circle that hit defenseman Derek Forbort in the leg and deflected off Demko.

Luke Kunin scored a rebound while Askarov came in as an additional attacker at 19:54 to make the final score 4-3.

“We just have to learn how to win,” Celebrini said. “We all believe we can finish some of these games, now it’s just a matter of getting it done.”

NOTES: San Jose defenseman Jake Walman missed the game and is sidelined with a lower-body injury suffered in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss at the Edmonton Oilers. … Demko has won 12 straight games against San Jose since April 2, 2019.