Sharks’ playoff party put on hold
LAS VEGAS >> Instead of popping the champagne in the Las Vegas, the Sharks watched as their Pacific Division rivals celebrated the most indelible expansion season in the history of North American professional sports.
The Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title Saturday, capping off an incredible inaugural season with a 3-2 win that put a Sharks’ berth into the Stanley Cup playoffs on hold for at least two more days.
The Sharks will get three cracks at clinching their 13th playoff appearance in 14 years when they return to SAP Center next week to close out the season against the
Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild.
“The good news is we’ve set ourselves up to finish the season off in a really good spot with three home games and an opportunity to clinch home-ice advantage (in the first round), which has been a goal of ours right from day one,” head coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’ll sweep this one under the rug and get ready for the next three.”
William Karlsson clinched the win for the Golden Knights at 8:35 of the third, breaking a 2-2 tie by scoring one of the top goals in the NHL this season. Karlsson recorded the game-winning goal by sliding the puck back in between his legs as goalie Martin Jones was attempting a poke check and shooting it into the top-left corner.
“Probably shouldn’t have poked, but nice move,” Jones said.
Defenseman Paul Martin saw no fault in Jones’ attempt to poke the puck away from Karlsson as he was coming in on a breakaway.
“I was thinking poke check from the bench, too,” he said. “It was a nice play by both of them, but then Karlsson found the back of the net.”
Karlsson’s 42nd goal of the season came on a Sharks’ power play after Joe Pavelski turned the puck over to Karlsson on a drop pass. The Sharks power play went 0 for 2, making it 1 for 22 over the Sharks’ last six games. The Sharks are ranked 27th with the man advantage (15.1 percent) since Joe Thornton went down with a right-knee injury on Jan. 23.
“We just had too many big mistakes,” Pavelski said. “That’s on me, totally.”
A “big mistake” also factored into the Golden Knights’ second goal at 3:03 of the second. Oscar Lindberg put Vegas ahead 2-1 by redirecting a Shea Theodore shot through Jones’ five hole, capitalizing on a soft play by Kevin Labanc. The sophomore forward fanned on an opportunity to clear the puck up the boards by swiping at it in a lackadaisical manner.
Theodore put the Golden Knights ahead at 2:21 of the first by firing in a blast from the point with a screen in front on the Golden Knights’ first shot of the game.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic tied the game at 2-2 at 9:50 of the second by scoring his 11th goal on a delayed penalty. Pavelski made it a 1-1 game at 7:14 of the first, burying the rebound of a Timo Meier shot. Joonas Donskoi, who suited up for his first game since March 14 after missing eight straight games with a left shoulder injury, set the play up, bringing the puck down the right wing and finding Meier for an open shot with a pass from below the goal line.
The Sharks finished their wildly entertaining season series with the Golden Knights by posting a 1-2-1 record. Pavelski said the Sharks would welcome a rematch with the expansion team in the playoffs.
“It’s been fun to play in,” the Sharks captain said. “Tonight was great. You guys watched it. Have you been in a better building?”
• The Golden Knights honored the 58 victims of the Oct. 1 shooting at Mandalay Bay, retiring the No. 58 by raising a banner with 58 stars into the rafters.
• Joe Thornton joined the Sharks (44-24-10) for the final game of their four-game road trip Saturday, skating at the team’s morning practice in Las Vegas.
The 38-year old didn’t suit up for the last road game of the season, but he did spend a considerable amount of time on the ice after practice working with assistant coach Steve Spott. The veteran forward could be seen practicing his hard cuts and turns as he attempts to work his way back into the lineup after undergoing surgery on Jan. 25 to repair the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.