The San Jose Sharks scored a pair of goals 13 seconds apart late in the third to break open a close game in Vancouver, defeating the Canucks 4-2.

With Sharks leading 2-1, Joe Pavelski initiated a three-way passing play to help clinch the result, with Manny Malhotra taking Ryan Clowe's saucer pass and bursting up the middle before slipping the disc between Roberto Luongo's pads.

San Jose struck again to put it out of reach at 17:38. Luongo and defenceman Willie Mitchell both missed on a Sharks dump-in, and the puck skidded into the slot for Jamie McGinn to put home his fourth of the season.

Vancouver (14-12) managed to hold the potent San Jose trio of Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton to just one assist.

Problem was, the Sharks did an even more effective job of limiting the Canucks. Vancouver's shot total of 27 didn't reflect the paucity of great chances, and the power play went bust on four opportunities.

"Obviously their penalty killing is real good, but our execution wasn't there and we weren't able to generate anything," said coach Alain Vigneault. "Their other lines beat our guys and at the end of the day in one-on-one situations along the wall and in front of the net I thought they were grittier then our guys were and that's why we lost this game."

The Canucks had scored 24 goals in their last five heading into the contest, including a 7-3 pounding of Edmonton on Saturday on the same GM Place ice.

Kyle Wellwood opened the game's scoring early in the first for the Canucks, and assisted on Jannik Hansen's goal with just six seconds left in the third.

Frazer McLaren scored his first NHL goal for San Jose (18-6-4), with Dan Boyle taking advantage of Vancouver penalty troubles with a second-period power-play goal.

The Sharks have played 18 of their 28 games this season on the road but will now enjoy a five-game homestand.

"We've been on the road for so, so long," said Thornton. "But I think good teams win on the road and win at home, it doesn't matter where they play. It'll be nice to go home and get some home cookin' for all of pretty much December and January now."

Luongo made 26 saves, one more than Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

Wellwood, who didn't score an official goal in the first 19 games — he did have a shootout winner — got his second in three games at 1:59 of the first.

The Canucks moved the puck up the boards quickly and Wellwood effectively used Tanner Glass as a decoy, opting instead to shoot past Nabokov's blocker.

Vancouver was playing an efficient period defensively, but San Jose tied the score with just under eight minutes left after Pavelski intercepted a Mathieu Schneider clearing attempt. Pavelski threw the puck to the front of the net from the corner, with big McLaren to redirecting for a 1-1 score.

Both teams had close calls in the final minute of the period. Daniel Sedin skated in alone on Nabokov but was stopped, while Jed Ortmeyer beat Luongo with a shot , but not the buzzer to signal intermission.

The Canucks began a parade to the penalty box in the middle period, and it finally bit them on their third hooking minor in seven minutes, with Sedin in the box.

Thornton fired a shot from the left circle off Luongo's shoulder, and Boyle swooped in on the right side to pot the rebound.

Thornton extended his point streak to eight games and leads the NHL in assists (30) and points (37).

The Canucks were being outshot 21-12 when McGinn took a penalty with just under seven minutes left in the period, but Vancouver couldn't get anything going on the ensuing power play.

Vancouver did start making incursions in the last few minutes of the period, but shots were off-target or hitting bodies in front of Nabokov.

San Jose outshot the Canucks 15-4 in the period.

"Unfortunately our second period cost us again," said Luongo. "We weren't very sharp and we took a few penalties and they got some momentum there and got the go-ahead goal."

Christian Ehrhoff's slapper nearly five minutes into the third caused an anxious second or two for the Sharks in front of the fallen Nabokov, but the puck was located and cleared away.

It was the first game for Ehrhoff against the team he spent the previous five seasons with.

Canucks forward Ryan Kesler, who is without a goal in 11 games, redirected a shot to test Nabokov with about seven minutes left, but the Sharks goalie reacted quickly with a toe save.

"The puck was crawling toward me, I just kind of kicked it," said Nabokov. "At that time of the game any shot is dangerous."

Gritty Ryan Johnson earned the crowd's approval when he got in the way of Rob Blake's blast on a San Jose power play late in the game, hobbling to the Vancouver bench.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, it couldn't inspire the desired offensive play, and the Sharks soon pounced.

Hansen scored a goal meaningless other than for statistical purposes on a re-direct of Wellwood's shot.

Vancouver begins a four-game road trip on Wednesday in New Jersey.

San Jose begins a five-game homestand on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, the team Heatley left acrimoniously in September.

With files from The Canadian Press