Aaron Dell, Sharks hold off Hurricanes

SAN JOSE -- Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc scored 1:52 apart in the second period, and backup goalie Aaron Dell made 30 saves to help the San Jose Sharks defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 at SAP Center on Saturday.
Labanc's goal at 14:10 gave San Jose a 4-2 lead.
Carolina forward Derek Ryan scored a power-play goal at 3:42 of the third period to cut San Jose's lead to 4-3.
Patrick Marleau and Paul Martin scored first-period goals for the Sharks (16-11-1), and Dell made four saves in the final 1:39 to help them hang on for the win.

Lee Stempniak and Joakim Nordstrom also scored for the Hurricanes (11-11-6), and Cam Ward made 16 saves.
WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Sharks highlights
The Sharks had lost two straight games, including 3-2 at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
"You had a feeling it was one of those games you just have to win, you just have to find a way to win," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "Kind of similar on the road. Be patient, wait for a bounce. The start tonight was big for us to get a goal. They got one back, but we just kept answering and played with the lead. It makes it a bit easier."
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead 12 seconds into the game when Marleau took a cross-ice pass from Joe Thornton on a 2-on-1 rush and scored his seventh goal of the season.
"They had momentum right off the bat," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "Twelve seconds in they scored, so we were chasing the game most of the night."

Stempniak scored a power-play goal from close range at 1:59 of the first to tie it 1-1, but San Jose regained the lead at 2-1 on Martin's first goal of the season at 3:14. Martin's shot from the left point hit Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce's skate and deflected past Ward to the far side.
"It's always nice to get some good bounces like that," Martin said. "I think in general most of the season we've been creating chances, getting pucks to the net. At some point, it's nice to get rewarded for that kind of stuff when guys are working hard and creating opportunities."
The Hurricanes tied it 2-2 at 11:02 of the second period when Nordstrom scored a shorthanded goal.
Couture gave San Jose a 3-2 lead at 12:18 of the second with his 11th goal of the season, seventh in his past 10 games, tipping in Brent Burns' shot from the left point.

Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic left the game midway through the second period with a lower body injury. He's day to day, coach Peter DeBoer said.

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Goal of the game

Sharks defenseman Justin Braun sent the puck along the right boards, and it went through Pavelski's legs in the neutral zone to Thornton, who carried it to the right faceoff circle before sending a backhand pass to a streaking Marleau for a redirection past Ward from close range.

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Save of the game

Dell got his left pad on former Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson's wrist shot from the right faceoff circle at 1:35 of the second period.

Unsung performance of the game

Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo played his third straight game in place of David Schlemko (right ankle) and had a strong game with three shots on goal, two blocked shots, one hit and an assist on Labanc's second-period goal. Ward couldn't control the rebound on DeMelo's point shot, and Labanc scored easily from close range.

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Highlight of the game

Nordstrom tracked down a long pass from Victor Rask in the Sharks end, stayed a step in front of a diving Burns, and then faked left before beating Dell through the five-hole.

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They said it

"The last minute 6-on-5 is always a really, really long minute. We did a good job and had some big blocked shots there. Couldn't get too many clears but had some good sticks that blocked pucks out." -- Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell
"We definitely had our chances. That's hockey, right? Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn't. We're getting pucks and bodies to the net. That's all you can do, and hopefully it goes in." -- Hurricanes forward Derek Ryan

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Need to know

Sharks forward Matt Nieto was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous five games. He replaced Micheal Haley. ... The Hurricanes entered Saturday with the top-ranked penalty kill in the NHL (92.0 percent) and killed the only Sharks power play. They are 18-for-18 on the PK in their past six games. ... Carolina forward Elias Lindholm (lower body) missed his fifth straight game.

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What's next

Hurricanes: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, SNP, NHL.TV)
Sharks: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN4, CSN-CA, NHL.TV)