The San Jose Sharks might be better equipped this season to win more low scoring slugfests than free-wheeling affairs. But their 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday was hardly by design.
The Sharks frittered away four power play chances and misfired on a handful of other scoring opportunities in the first half of the game to help the Canucks hang around. 
A stellar night from goalie Aaron Dell was the biggest reason the Sharks were able to close out their five-game homestand with a 4-1 record, as he made 41 saves for his second career shutout.
Sharks centers Logan Couture and Chris Tierney each added empty-net goals in the final 1:41 of the third period, and Tierney added a penalty shot goal with 12.2 seconds left, to make the final score more flattering than perhaps it should have been for the home team.
The Canucks had outshot the Sharks 17-8 in the third period before Couture’s empty-netter with 1:41 to go. 
Vancouver also outshot the Sharks 12-2 at one point in the second period, before Couture’s shorthanded goal on a breakaway at the 15:59 mark gave San Jose a two-goal cushion. 
Tomas Hertl made a play to help spring Couture, who slid a backhand shot under Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.
Hertl opened the scoring for the Sharks 48 seconds into the first period. A shot from Justin Braun was stopped by Markstrom, but the rebound went off Hertl’s skate and into the net, ending his nine-game goalless drought.
The line of Hertl, Couture and Melker Karlsson had been held without a point the last three games before Saturday. Hertl, in particular, had just one assist in his last six games.
The Sharks had an 11-4 edge in shots with just under seven minutes left in the first period. Dell finished the period with 10 saves, including a point-blank chance by Bo Horvat late in the first period as the Sharks were killing a penalty to Timo Meier.
Dell, making his fourth start of the season, also stopped Derek Dorsett’s shot on a Canucks’ 2 on 1 when the Sharks were up by one and on their fourth power play.
The Sharks had four shots on goal in 6:38 of time with the man advantage, as two of their power plays were cut short by their own penalties.
Dell came on in relief of Martin Jones in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and stopped eight of nine shots. 
He got the call against the Canucks with Jones likely getting 
the nod against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday to wrap up a weekend against Pacific Division opponents.
Considering how bunched up the Pacific Division was going into Saturday’s game, it figured to be an important weekend. Not necessarily because it’s vital to climb the standings in mid-November, but because you don’t want to fall too far back.
The Los Angeles Kings came into Saturday in first place with 24 points, followed by surprising Vegas with 21. 
Vancouver and Calgary were tied for third with 18, Anaheim had 17 and the Sharks, coming off Wednesday’s 5-1 thumping at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, had 16.
“There’s enough for us to focus on our own things and where we need to get better,” Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi said Saturday morning when asked if he pays attention to the division standings at this time of year.
“But of course every time you play against a team that’s in your division it’s a big game and they’re big games for us this weekend.”
There’s no question the Canucks are playing better right now in their first season under new coach Travis Green than they did the last two years under Willie Desjardins.
Last season, the Sharks were a combined 16-4-3 against the six Western Conference teams that missed the playoffs, including a 5-0 mark against Vancouver, which helped them have some insurance to finish in the top three in the Pacific once they went cold in mid-March.
“Right now my concern is with our game and making sure we get it back to where we need it to be,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Saturday morning. 
“It wasn’t there last game and we want to get it back.
“The good teams in this league extend their winning streaks and limit their losing streaks. That’s where we’re at. We just came off four in a row we won. We had a bad one and we want to make sure we put an end to that quickly.”

RESULTS
Rangers 4 Oilers 2
Senators 4 Avalanche 3
Wild 1 Flyers 0
Predators 5 Penguins 4 (SO)
Blackhawks 4 Hurricanes 3 (OT)
Canadiens 2 Sabres 1 (OT)
Blue Jackets 2 Red Wings 1 (SO)
Maple Leafs 4 Bruins 1
Islanders 5 Blues 2
Sharks 5 Canucks 0
Devils 2 Panthers 1
Jets 4 Coyotes 1