VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Winning is breeding more confidence for the San Jose Sharks.

Even when they fell behind 2-0 in the first period, the Sharks believed they could rally against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

The Sharks scored twice in the third period, with Patrick Marleau notching the winner on a two-on-one breakaway, as San Jose defeated the Canucks 3-2.

It was the third consecutive win for the Sharks, who are 17-4-4 in their last 25 games. The victory comes just four days after San Jose scored four unanswered goals in the third period for a 4-1 win over Vancouver.

"We know we want that next goal," said Sharks' captain Joe Pavelski. "We know if we can get that next one, we are right there.

"We got a big goal. It was good to see us get two points tonight."

The Sharks took advantage of Canuck defenseman Dan Hamhuis getting caught up ice on the winning goal. That allowed Marleau and Joonas Donskoi to break into the Canuck zone.

Donskoi threaded a pass past Canucks defenseman Matt Bartkowski and Marleau beat Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller on the blocker side.

"It was a great pass by Donskoi," said Marleau, who collected his 19th goal of the season. "He was able to make a nice flat pass over to me."

It was the fifth time this year San Jose won a game when trailing after two periods. They have lost three others in overtime.

"We have done it a few times now so we know we can do it," said Marleau. "You don't want to be toying with it all that many times.

"We play a certain way. We know we are going to get our chances. It's just a matter of burying those chances and sticking with it."

It was Marleau's 92nd career game-winning goal, leaving tied for 12th overall. It's also one more than Wayne Gretzky.

"It's cool to have your name in the same sentence as the Great One," said Marleau.

Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. Brent Burns, on the power play, also scored for San Jose (35-22-6), which is third in the Pacific Division, 16 points ahead of Vancouver.

The Sharks were outshot 15-7 in the first period and needed some big saves from goaltender Martin Jones to stay in the game.

"It was a gutsy win," said Jones, who had 28 saves. "Even in the first, we were skating well, moving the puck well in the offensive zone, doing some good things

"We knew it was going to come. We just had to clean up some turnovers."

Jake Virtanen and Sven Baertschi scored for Vancouver. The Canucks (24-27-12) lost their third consecutive game and fell to 2-7-0 in their past nine games. It also was the 11th time this season the Canucks lost after leading following two periods.

Miller was frustrated over Hertl's goal at 10:29 of the second which reduced Vancouver's lead to 2-1.

Hertl was battling with Vancouver defenseman Ben Hutton in front of the net when he deflected Burns' point shot past Miller. The Canucks argued it was scored on a high stick, but after a review, the goal stood.

"I don't know what the league is looking at," said Miller, who made 27 saves. "It's definitely a high stick and they missed it.

"Get it right or just get rid of the rule."

The game swung in the second period when San Jose outshot Vancouver 16-8.

"We were under too much pressure," said Canuck coach Willie Desjardins. "When you get pressure, eventually it's going to break.

"San Jose came with a better effort in the second period, they picked up their game. I thought we were okay in the third but didn't play great."

Vancouver is 10 points behind Minnesota for the final Wild Card playoff spot in the Western Conference.

NOTES: Vancouver C Brendan Gaunce, called up from Utica of the American Hockey League, couldn't practice Wednesday because his equipment had not arrived. However, he played in the game and was a minus-1. ... Canucks RW Jannik Hansen could miss two weeks with a rib injury. ... The Canucks' scratches were RW Radim Vrbata and D Yannick Weber. ... Vancouver's LW Daniel Sedin, C Henrik Sedin and G Jacob Markstrom were selected to play for Team Sweden in the World Cup of Hockey. ... San Jose C Melker Karlsson missed the game with an undisclosed minor injury. ... D Dylan DeMelo and C Micheal Haley were called up from San Jose's AHL team. DeMelo was a scratch but Haley played. ... G James Reimer, obtained in a trade from Toronto on Saturday, joined the Sharks in Vancouver and served as the backup. ... RW Jon Martin, captain of Swift Current of the Western Hockey League, signed an entry-level contract with San Jose. ... The Canucks and Sharks play Saturday in San Jose.