Canucks 4, Sharks 3

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Henrik Sedin knew the Vancouver Canucks often struggled in San Jose. Getting a win there for the first time in nearly four years was a step in the right direction.

Alex Burrows scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and Vancouver held on to beat the Sharks 4-3 on Monday night for its first victory in San Jose since April 7, 2007.

"It means a lot to this group to come down here and get a win," Sedin said. "We've played a lot of good games here and haven't come up with a win."

Daniel Sedin, Alexander Edler and Jannik Hansen also scored for the Canucks, who improved to 8-0-1 in their past nine road games and 15-1-2 in their last 18 overall. Cory Schneider stopped 32 of 35 shots.

"We weren't happy with the first two games of our trip," Schneider said. "We were back on our heels a little bit. We addressed it and guys were determined to get back to our game."

Ryane Clowe, Patrick Marleau and Jamal Mayers scored for the Sharks, who lost for the third time in nine games. Antti Niemi made 43 saves.

"They are a quick, aggressive team and they won a lot of faceoffs in their own zone," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "We had our share of opportunities."

Burrows redirected Christian Ehrhoff's shot off Niemi's pads and tapped the puck into an open net at 8:57 of the final period.

The victory put Vancouver atop the Western Conference with 55 points while San Jose stayed in the fourth spot.

"It feels good but it seems like we're never satisfied," Burrows said. "Whatever happened in the past we forget about it and move on. That seems to work well for us."

The Canucks played Sunday night in Colorado but had plenty left to outskate the Sharks, who allowed a season high in shots.

"This was a good test for us, coming in late and a little bit tired and playing against a strong team. We had a solid effort and got it done," Burrows said.

Daniel Sedin, who has points in 16 of his past 18 games, opened the scoring with his 21st goal. He chipped the puck over Niemi's glove after receiving a pass from Henrik Sedin at the top of the crease.

Clowe tied the game early in the second, tapping in the puck following Jason Demers' shot on goal.

Edler put the Canucks back on top with a power-play goal at the 8:14 mark.

"I didn't get some of the rebounds," Niemi said. "Goalies like to face a lot of shots. It didn't feel like that many."

Marleau scored his fourth goal in six games after a 10-game drought to bring the Sharks even 4 minutes later. Mayers gave San Jose the lead with 4:39 left in the second.

Hansen tied it with 1:25 left in the period, redirecting a rebound.

"In all areas of the game I thought we played our best game of the three (recent road games)," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "It was a tough grind out there for both teams and we were able to get it done."

Notes: The Canucks are 4-5-1 in their past 10 games against the Sharks. ... Marleau scored his 19th career goal in 50 games against the Canucks. ... Sharks D Dan Boyle has four assists in his past four games. ... Sharks F Andrew Desjardins was recalled from Worcester. F Tommy Wingels was reassigned to Worcester to make room.