Hampus Lindholm goal gives Ducks win

ANAHEIM-- Hampus Lindholm scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:38 left in the third period to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at Honda Center on Friday.
Lindholm took a feed from Nick Ritchie at the top of the right circle and banked it in off the crossbar for his first of the season in his 15th game.
"You want to have an impact on the game when you're on offense," Lindholm said. "I thought tonight that goal was really big for us. I thought we had some defensively good plays, too, that kind of helped us in the defensive zone, and that's what I'm kind of focusing on, but it was really nice to see one go in."

WATCH: All Sharks vs. Ducks highlights
Rickard Rakell and Antoine Vermette scored, and Shea Theodore and Nick Ritchie each had two assists for Anaheim (14-9-5).
Ducks goalie Jonathan Bernier, in his first start since an 8-3 loss to the Calgary Flames on Dec. 4, made 22 saves, including a series of stops in the final minute when San Jose came with hard pressure and an extra attacker.
"I had a solid week in practice and was dialed in tonight," Bernier said. "I just wanted to give the team a good chance to win, and we found a way to win again tonight."
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said he felt it was important to start Bernier this week in order to allow him to move past the loss in Calgary.
"I would say any professional sports athlete that has something that doesn't go their way or goes drastically poor from a scoring standpoint would rather get right back on and ride the horse again if you get bucked off," Carlyle said.

Brent Burns scored his Sharks-high 12th of the season, and Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose (15-11-1). Martin Jones made 29 saves.
"We didn't hang our heads and we battled," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We are just finding our way to lose right now instead of win."
Labanc tied it 2-2 at 8:40 of the second period, finishing a cross-ice feed from Logan Couture. Burns made it 2-1 with a power-play goal six seconds before the first period expired.
Vermette made it 2-0 at 15:06 of the first, scoring off the rush.
After missing two games with a lower-body injury, Rakell returned and scored at 4:44 for a 1-0 lead. He has 11 goals in 17 games, one goal behind Ryan Kesler for the Ducks lead.

Goal of the game

Ritchie came down the wall, stopped at the edge of the circle and sent the puck to Lindholm.

Save of the game

After Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano was blocked by Burns twice shooting at the empty net, the Sharks came back the other way. Labanc missed on a wrist shot and Joel Ward came within inches of tying the game when he tipped the rebound with 23 seconds left.
"I thought we did a good job holding the net," Bernier said. "I had the short side and I thought we did a good job keeping them on the outside."

Unsung performance of the game

With the return of Rakell, Ritchie was moved to the third line. He assisted on two goals, including Lindholm's game-winner.
"He drove the puck deep, stopped up and went back up the strong side," Carlyle said. "He had to read that, and that's a good read on his part."

Highlight of the game

Patrick Marleau passed through the crease to Burns, who one-timed his goal from his knees.

They said it

"We had chances. We were there, but it doesn't matter. We just kept plugging away. We had some good looks. We have to start putting them in the net. It's frustrating when you know a goal can change a game like that and you're missing some good opportunities. You keep working for the next chance." -- Sharks captain Joe Pavelski
"I was thinking, 'Shoot, shoot, don't miss it!'" -- Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm on his game-winning goal

Need to know

Rakell has 15 points in 17 games since making his season debut Nov. 1. He ranks third in the NHL in goals per game (0.65), behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (0.85) and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins (0.78). … Theodore and Ritchie each had his first multiassist game in the NHL.

What's next

Sharks: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; CSN-CA, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Ducks: Host the Ottawa Senators on Sunday (4 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, PRIME, TSN5)