Knights’ win puts Sharks on the brink

LAS VEGAS — A stirring San Jose Sharks comeback in the third period Friday created a few tense moments for the frenzied, sold-out crowd inside T-Mobile Arena.

But the first half of Game 5, when the Sharks reverted back to some bad habits against the Vegas Golden Knights, was too much to overcome.

Now they’ve got less than 48 hours to get everything corrected if they want to keep their season alive.

Goalie Martin Jones made 27 saves through two-plus periods but Alex Tuch scored twice and James Neal and Erik Haula each added one as the Golden Knights earned a 5-3 win to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, pushing the Sharks to the brink of elimination.

Kevin Labanc, Tomas Hertl and Mikkel Boedker all scored in the third period, with Hertl’s goal at the 11:44 mark of the third cutting Vegas’ lead to 4-2. Boedker then added an even strength goal with 4:16 to go in regulation to narrow the lead to one.

Jonathan Marchessault, though, scored an empty net goal with 1:21 left in the third that ended any comeback hopes.

The type of pressure the Sharks had been able to create over the previous three games, when they combined for 123 shots on goal, mostly disappeared in the first two periods when the Sharks only lightly tested Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who finished with 27 saves. Labanc’s power play goal at the 9:35 mark of the third spoiling the shutout bid. Game 6 is Sunday at SAP Center. The Sharks put an emphasis on improving the details of their game since the moment they left T-Mobile Arena last week after a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of the Golden Knights in Game 1 on April 26. Since then the Sharks had improved their puck management, slowing down the Golden Knights’ sharp transition game.

Jones was sharp in the first period, carrying over his play from Game 4 when he made 34 saves to post his sixth career playoff shutout. He was three seconds away from keeping the game scoreless after 20 minutes before the Knights struck to take a 1-0 lead.

After Boedker, standing just a few feet away from the blue line, failed to get the puck out of the Sharks’ zone, the Golden Knights kept possession for about the next 20 seconds. The puck came back to the point, where Shea Theodore put it toward the net. It went off Logan Couture and right to James Neal, whose scored from right next to the slot put Vegas ahead.

Jones and Fleury were the biggest reasons why it remained 0-0 for so long.

Jones made clutch stops earlier in the first on Neal, Ryan Carpenter and William Karlsson, as he ended up stopping 14 of 15 shots in the first period.

Fleury’s best stop came on Boedker, as Couture intercepted a puck behind the Vegas net. He fed Boedker in front for a point blank chance, but his shot was gloved by Fleury, who finished the first with seven saves.

Tuch’s first goal came on the power play after Hertl was called for interference at the 4:19 mark of the second, stopping Colin Miller from getting to the blue line after Joe Pavelski won an offensive zone draw. Just 32 seconds later Tuch scored for a 2-0 Vegas lead.

Job No. 1 for the Sharks was to slow down the Golden Knights’ top line of Karlsson, Marchessault and Reilly Smith. Even though the Sharks shut out Vegas 4-0 in Game 4, the trio still combined for 11 shots on goal.

“We play against really good players, you’re not going to completely shut them down in a game,” Couture said Wednesday morning of the responsibility he and linemates Hertl and Boedker usually face.

“They’re still going to get their looks. For us, if we’re playing against them tonight, try and force them to defend, play in the d-zone.”

While Karlsson, Marchessault and Smith continued to be hard to slow down, Vegas’ other forwards, since Game 1, had been largely been held in check at even strength for the last three games.

It the Golden Knights’ 7-0 win in Game 1, 11 of their 18 skaters collected at least one point. It’s been a different story since, though, with just Neal and Erik Haula collecting one point each. David Perron was Vegas’s only third line forward to register a point in the two games at SAP Center

That changed Friday, as Perron added two assists.