Burns leads Sharks by Canucks, 4-1

SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Brent Burns' time as a forward Thursday night lasted a little more than one period.

Moments after it did end, Burns scored with a slap shot from just above the circle.

Burns' goal from an all-too-familiar spot on the ice came at the 4:57 mark of the second period, as the San Jose Sharks got past the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 at SAP Center to maintain sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division.

Burns, Mikkel Boedker and Chris Tierney each had a goal and an assist, Marcus Sorensen also scored and goalie Martin Jones made 41 saves as the Sharks won for the third time in four games.

With the Sharks' forward group hampered by injuries, Burns started Thursday's game on San Jose's top line with Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier. He logged 8:47 of ice time in the first period to lead all skaters.

But after defenseman Dylan DeMelo was injured early in the second period on a hit by the Canucks' Alex Edler and had to go to the Sharks' dressing room, Burns was moved back to defense with former partner Joakim Ryan.

On his first shift back on defense, Burns took a pass from Ryan and sent a shot to the net that got through traffic and past Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson for his 10th goal of the season.

When DeMelo returned, Burns remained on the blue line.

Burns' move to forward, however brief, certainly added a degree of anticipation to Thursday's game.

Burns had not started a game as a winger since the end of the 2013-14 season, when he finished with 48 points in 69 games, good enough for fifth-best on the team. Burns was moved up front midway through the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, and helped turn the team around after it floundered through the first few weeks back on the ice.

Amid much debate, outside, and at times, inside the organization, Burns was moved back to defense for the start of the 2014-15 season, where he's remained for the last 3{ years.

Burns' numbers as a forward largely came with Joe Thornton as his centerman.

"I was talking to (Thornton) yesterday. I said, you've played with (Burns) a few years ago at forward, how was he? He said he was the best forward in the league," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Thursday morning. "Jumbo's a little biased with Burnzie, but he's a special athlete. When you write it down, if it works, you're adding a great, not top-six forward, but top-three forward."

DeBoer stated unequivocally on Nov. 20, when Burns had seven assists and no goals in San Jose's first 19 games, that he was not thinking about moving the 2017 Norris Trophy winner back to forward.

Injuries to the Sharks' forward group, though, changed things.

Thornton is out long term with a right knee injury and Joel Ward has been labeled week to week with an right shoulder injury. Tomas Hertl, injured in Tuesday's game against Arizona, is also hurt, but figures to return quicker than Ward or Thornton.

"We're doing this out of necessity because of the injuries we've got up front," DeBoer said. "You take two top-six guys out of anybody's lineup, with Thornton and Hertl, that's a big hole. We can hope that other guys will fill it, but this is the final sprint to the finish line."

Burns' move up front meant Tim Heed, officially recalled from the Barracuda on Thursday morning, started the game on the Sharks' second defense pair with Ryan. The two were among the AHL's best defensemen last season when the Barracuda won the Pacific Division and advanced to the Western Conference finals in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Still, it was going to be a test to see if Heed and Ryan could log big minutes together, largely against the opposing team's second- or third-best forward lines.

Heed drew back into the lineup for the first time since Jan. 13.

"The question is going to be, if we do (move Burns), whether we're a better team. That's the million dollar question, and I don't know the answer to that," DeBoer said. "It's going to be how our other six (defensemen) play.

"The rationale behind doing it would be that Tim Heed's an offensive guy that we've got sitting on the shelf. He brings some of the same characteristics that Burnzie brings as far as the shot."