Sharks show real bite
Down 3-1 in series, 3 goals in Game 7, they rally, advance
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Joe Thornton gathered his teammates at the bench as a bloodied Joe Pavelski was taken off the ice after being knocked out on a hit and implored them to avenge their captain’s injury by scoring three goals on the ensuing major penalty to erase a three-goal deficit.
The Sharks did Thornton one better and scored four, setting the stage for a remarkable comeback for a franchise known for far too many postseason collapses.
The Sharks erased a 3-1 series deficit, a three-goal hole in the third period and bounced back after allowing a tying goal in the final minute of regulation to beat the Golden Knights 5-4 in overtime in Game 7 of their first-round series Tuesday night, showing the resiliency that critics had said was often lacking.
“The leadership is the best I’ve been around,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “Joe goes down. Joe Thornton is talking to the guys, ‘Let’s get three goals on this power play.’ He actually said that and we got four. Very fortunate as a coach to be around people like that. You don’t have to say a lot. They’re driving the bus.”
That leadership core that has been maligned over the years has led the Sharks into the second round against the Avalanche.
To get there, the Sharks completed the first comeback from 3-1 down in a series in franchise history with help from 58 saves from Martin Jones and the first double-overtime short-handed goal ever by Tomas Hertl to win Game 6 on the road.
That pales in comparison to what the Sharks had to overcome Tuesday when they trailed 3-0 with 10:47 to play and Pavelski was lying on the ice after a cross-check from Cody Eakin and bump from Paul Stastny led to an awkward fall. The referees called a major penalty.
“It almost made you cry, because we love him,” said Thornton, who held a towel to Pavelski’s bleeding head as he helped him to the dressing room.
The Sharks rallied around their fallen leader to become the second team in playoff history to score four times on one major power play to take the lead. Fans at the Shark Tank who have become conditioned to postseason failure went crazy.
Predictably for the Sharks, it didn’t come easy as they allowed the tying goal to Jonathan Marchessault with 47 seconds to play in regulation before fourth-liner Barclay Goodrow provided the gamewinner 18:19 into OT, making the Sharks just the second team to overcome a three-goal deficit in the third to win a Game 7.
Logan Couture, who scored twice on the power play, summed it up: “That’s a once in a lifetime game.”