Sharks try to end skid against Canucks

The San Jose Sharks returned home and rediscovered the blueprint for the way they want to play Friday night.

But even that wasn't enough to snap their losing streak.

Despite outshooting Winnipeg 53-19, the Sharks suffered a 3-2 defeat -- their fourth in a row -- as Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 51 saves.

The Sharks will look to put an end to their skid when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

"This one stings, but I thought we played pretty good," Sharks captain Logan Couture said.

Considering the Sharks had been outscored 14-4 over their previous three losses, causing coach Peter DeBoer to label his team "soft," Friday showed improvement.

"I don't think there's a worse word you can be called," DeBoer said. "But that's the reality of it. We've got it turned in the right direction (Friday night). We had the appropriate amount of battle and grit and fight to our game. We've got to continue to have that."

Friday marked the opener of a six-game homestand for the Sharks, who play 11 times at SAP Center this month.

"That's the team I'm familiar with, that's the style that's nice to see," DeBoer said. "We haven't seen it in a while. It would have been nice to get rewarded for it. But if we play that type of game the wins will come."

Barclay Goodrow and Tomas Hertl scored for the Sharks, and Evander Kane had a goal called back on video review because of goaltender interference.

The Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers scored the go-ahead goal with 1:24 remaining.

"We let them hang around and those one or two mistakes you make come back to haunt you," Kane said. "That's what happened (Friday night)."

The Canucks also will be playing the second half of a back-to-back, after suffering a 2-1 overtime defeat Friday in Anaheim.

The Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf scored the winner on a breakaway midway through overtime after Vancouver's Adam Gaudette tied the score with 6:18 remaining in regulation. Still, the Canucks extended their points streak to six games (4-0-2).

The Canucks also ran into a hot goalie, as Anaheim's John Gibson made 39 saves.

"I thought our team was pretty good (Friday night)," Vancouver coach Travis Green said. "I don't know how many shots we had, but almost 70 attempts is pretty good. Their goalie played well. ... The big thing is when you play a really good game, you want to get a point out of it. You're going to play good some nights and lose. At least we got a point."

Vancouver's Elias Petterrsson and Bo Horvat both had five-game point streaks snapped, while fellow forward Brock Boeser had a three-game goal streak end.

Canucks rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes, the seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft, appeared to twist his ankle late in the first period against the Ducks and didn't return. Green didn't provide an update postgame, leaving Hughes' availability for Saturday's contest in question.

--Field Level Media