SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Is there any victory in a loss? If you're the Anaheim Ducks, you might feel that way after paying a hefty price for escaping San Jose with one point in their back pocket.
The chance to steal another went away when Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored on a breakaway in overtime for a 2-1 win Tuesday night at SAP Center. The Ducks' biggest loss came off the ice.
Despite being outplayed for much of the night, the Ducks somehow got the game to overtime after losing the services of center Ryan Getzlaf and goaltender Jonathan Bernier during it. It was all about survival and Chris Wagner's second-period goal gave them a hard-earned point.
It was costly. Getzlaf, who's off to a strong start with eight points in his first six games, didn't come out for the start of the third period. Television replays showed the Ducks captain hit on his left forearm by a shot in the second and Getzlaf missed a couple shifts before returning.
Meanwhile, Bernier left with an upper-body injury suffered sometime in the first period as John Gibson replaced him to start the second. And with a home game Wednesday against Nashville, it may require a call-up of Dustin Tokarski.
Gibson will need to bounce back quickly. The Sharks made him work throughout the second but the Ducks' No. 1 was up to the task. All 15 shots in the period were turned aside, including sprawling stops on Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture.
The sharp netminding let the Ducks (2-3-2) hang around until they finally broke through at the 17:49 mark. Chris Wagner got down in front to put a tip on Clayton Stoner's point shot and the forward jumped on the rebound to shove it between Jones's pads for a 1-1 tie.
Benefitting from a move up to the third line, Wagner scored his second goal in three games. Both of them are his first tallies with the Ducks after scoring four last season with Colorado before the Ducks got back their original 2010 draft pick off waivers.
San Jose jumped out first on Joe Pavelski's power-play score. Pinpoint passing led to Bernier having to turn away a scoring chance but Pavelski was able to jump on the loose puck and bat it towards the net, with the puck crossing before the goal came off its moorings.
The Ducks got their first opportunity to tie it up when Hertl was whistled for a faceoff violation as Michael Haley was already serving time for instigating a fight with Stoner. But Jones made a stop on Sami Vatanen and the Sharks killed off both penalties.
Before he exited, Bernier made sure the deficit didn't grow. Chris Tierney was left wide open to his left and quickly took a sweeping shot but Bernier pushed over to get enough of it and sent the puck flying harmlessly away.
It would be the defining moment of his second start with the Ducks _ and the last one for his night.
