NHL reaches out, but too late
Blown calls spoiled Thornton’s hat trick, potential win
SAN JOSE >> Pete DeBoer heard from the NHL on Tuesday — just as he had predicted — but the Sharks coach declined to share the details of the conversation.
The topic, though, was clear. A series of calls Monday night resulted in a 6-5 overtime loss and spoiled Joe Thornton’s first hat trick in eight years — a storybook performance against his former team, the Boston Bruins.
Following the game, DeBoer noted the lack of an extra penalty on Boston’s Zdeno Chara for his dustup with Joe Pavelski; Chris Wagner’s disputed tying goal with 1:49 left in the third period; and the Bruins’ net not being put back on its moorings in overtime and the whistle being blown prior to an Evander Kane breakaway.
The most galling was Wagner’s goal, which erased a 5-4 Sharks lead. Wagner knocked the puck into the net with a stick that was clearly above his shoulders. By the letter of the law, the goal should have been disallowed. But according to DeBoer, the referees insisted that Wagner’s stick was below his shoulders, making the goal valid on a non-reviewable play.
“I was right there on the play,” Logan Couture said. “It was pretty clear that it was above both the crossbar and his shoulders. It was above his eyesight. Tough one for all of them to miss. The refs are going to watch
it and they’ll probably feel bad about this one.”
The wound only deepened in overtime when Evander Kane’s breakaway chance got whistled dead because the Bruins net was off its hinges. The net had became dislodged when Kane got checked by Charlie McAvoy below the goal line. The puck went all the way into the Sharks end before Kane brought it back through the neutral zone, giving the referees plenty of time to get the net back on its hinges. Instead, they blew the whistle.
The Bruins scored the winner 31 seconds later.
“I mean, really, the officiating the whole third period between the net off in overtime and Chara on Pavelski,” DeBoer said, not finishing the thought. “I’m sure we’ll get an explanation and some type of apology. It doesn’t help us in the standings, but that’s usually how it works.”
And that’s exactly how it worked Tuesday.
MORE FROM THE THORNTON STORYBOOK >> Thornton’s third goal appeared to have been the game-winner, putting the Sharks ahead 5-4 late in the third period.
The crowd at SAP Center erupted. Hats flew on the ice. Thornton raised his arms in joy, lighting up The Tank with a huge smile.
Despite the sad ending, the hat trick still allowed the Sharks to earn a point on a night when they fell behind 3-0 in the opening frame. Thornton gave the Sharks life with 2.7 seconds left in the first, knocking the puck over the goal line in a mad scrum in front of the Bruins net. He also made it a 4-3 game at 16:03 of the second, punching in a Radim Simek shot that found its way into the paint off a Marcus Sorensen redirection.
“It was a spectacular night for him considering it’s his first NHL team,” DeBoer said. “Couldn’t have written a better script other than winning the game.” SHARKS FANS GET A GLIMPSE OF THEIR WORST NIGHTMARE >> Sharks’ fans worst nightmare goes something like this: the best team in franchise history gets its shot at bringing Northern California its first Stanley Cup derailed by porous goaltending.
They caught a glimpse of how that might unfold as the Bruins extended their winning streak to six games and their point streak to 11 games.
After getting beat 5-1 in a playoff-type game against Washington Capitals last week, the Sharks wanted to prove they could win a tight-defensive battle against a physical contender like the Bruins. Everyone knows that the NHL’s second-ranked offense can put goals on the board, but the Sharks can’t expect to “outscore their problems” in the playoffs.
On Monday, they almost did. The problems were goaltending and discipline.
Though the Sharks hurt their own cause by giving the NHL’s second-ranked power play four looks with the man advantage, leading to a pair of goals, goalie Martin Jones didn’t give them a lot of help either.
Jones surrendered the Bruins first two goals off a pair of 50-plus foot shots to his short side. He coughed up the third by attempting an ill-advised poke check on Jake DeBrusk, and the game-tying goal was, in part, the result of poor rebound control.
“He could be better,” DeBoer said of Jones. “I think he would say the same thing.”
The goaltending performance is even more disappointing considering that the Sharks erased a threegoal deficit, scoring five times against the NHL’s second-stingiest team. In addition, they put together a pretty strong defensive performance, keeping the Bruins off the shot clock for a stretch of 22:47 in the second and third periods.
But team defense doesn’t mean anything if it isn’t matched by quality goaltending. After six strong starts from Jones to open the month of February, the Sharks continue to rank last in even-strength save percentage, making goaltending the team’s biggest Achilles’ heel heading toward the stretch.
“We know we can score goals,” Pavelski said. “Our challenge is really to do it the right way on both sides of the puck.
“We don’t want to get in track meets.”
• Erik Karlsson was given a maintenance day Tuesday by DeBoer and didn’t skate. Karlsson, who recently missed nine games with a groin injury, played 28 minutes and 33 seconds against the Bruins.
DeBoer said Jones may start Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh, but that he hadn’t decided who he’ll go to for the rest of the road trip. The Sharks play Saturday in Columbus, Sunday in Detroit and Tuesday in Boston.