Kane gets in playoff spirit
SAN JOSE >> Sharks forward Evander Kane allowed himself a moment to revel in the playoff atmosphere at SAP Center in the middle of Game 3 against the Anaheim Ducks.
At the 14:28 mark of the second period, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski and Ducks forward Nick Ritchie got mixed up in a scrum after a stoppage in play near goalie Martin Jones. Ritchie threw a punch at Pavelski and pretty soon a handful of players’ gloves were on the ice.
After Ritchie and Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo were escorted to the penalty box, Kane began to pick up some of the gloves. He heard the noise from the sold-out crowd and exhorted the fans to get even louder by waving his arms in the air.
Needless to say, they responded.
“Just emotions taking over,” Kane said. “Kind of saw the crowd getting excited about the scrum and thought I’d try to get them a little more excited. It seemed to work.”
Every Sharks forward had a point in the Game 3 rout, which put the Ducks in 3-0 hole in the best-ofseven series. Kane and linemates Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi finished with a combined seven points, continuing a series in which they’ve been too much for the Ducks to handle.
Through three games, Pavelski is tied for the team lead with five points, Kane has four and Donskoi has three. Their play in the series has been reminiscent of the way they performed together last month, right after Kane was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres and before Donskoi suffered a shoulder injury on March 14.
In that seven-game stretch, Donskoi had six points, Kane had six and Pavelski 10. The Sharks went 5-2.
“I think last game was our best game as a line throughout the series,” Kane said. “We had a little bit more zone time, had some more offensive opportunities, some odd-man rushes. So that was nice to see. It was good for us to get on the board and feel good about ourselves.
“We have a lot more to give and hopefully get better as the playoffs go on.”
• Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said unequivocally that defenseman Brent Burns is fine health-wise and will be available to play in Game 4. Burns did not play in the final 10 minutes of Game 3 for still reasons that are still unclear, with DeBoer saying after the game, “Just no sense. He wasn’t going to get back on the ice, so we put him in the room.”
Burns played in all 82 games this season, leading the Sharks with 67 points. He also led the Sharks last year with 76 points and became the first San Jose player to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.
• The Ducks certainly hope the national television network being used Wednesday night isn’t foreshadowing in any way. After all, the Sharks could send the Ducks to the golf course, right after Game 4 is shown on Golf Channel.
Bay Area viewers will get to watch the potential elimination game on NBC Sports California with play-by-play man Randy Hahn and color analyst Bret Hedican as they have all season. Nationally, though, if viewers want to watch the game, they’ll have to tune in to the Golf Channel.
NBCSN is carrying a hockey doubleheader, with Game 4 of the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia series at 4 p.m., followed by Game 4 of the Nashville-Colorado series at 7 p.m. But NBC, CNBC and USA Network — all channels that have shown NHL playoff games this month — are televising other programs, including reruns of such shows as “Family Feud,” “Shark Tank,” “Law & Order” and “Suits.”
Before Sharks- Ducks, Golf Channel is airing Game 4 of the Tampa BayNew Jersey series.