Sharks shrug off goal controversy

ST. LOUIS» Don’t tell San Jose coach Peter DeBoer his Sharks have gotten lucky during their playoff run.

“It irks me when you use words like that because this is a team that we’ve played four or five elimination games, not moments, games, 12 to 15 periods of elimination hockey against Vegas and Colorado,” DeBoer said. “I think it’s a ridiculous statement.”

Ridiculous or not, the Sharks have had their fair share of puck luck during their run.

The latest example came Wednesday night on Erik Karlsson’s gamewinning goal against St. Louis in overtime.

The officials missed a hand pass by Timo Meier, who used his right hand to knock the loose puck toward the front of the net whereaquickpasssetup Karlsson for his second goal of the game.

The Sharks take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final into Game 4 Friday night.

Meier was even given an assist on the play though his stick never touched the puck.

“It’s a fast game,” Meier said.“Iwentdownonthe ice. I got cross-checked after the puck was in the air so I was on the ice, looked up and the puck was in the net and I saw the guys celebrating.”

For all the frustration among the Blues and their long-suffering fans, the play was not subject to review.

In the first round, San Jose trailed Vegas 3-0 in the third period of Game 7 before scoring four times during a five-minute power play stemming from a controversial major penalty called against the Golden Knights.

In the next round, a tying goal by Colorado was waved off in Game 7 on an offside challenge involving Gabriel Landeskog, who was leaving the ice on a line change.

The latest call may have had the most impact simply because it ended the game. Unlike Vegas or Colorado, the Blues had no time to recover.

The call was so egregious that multiple sports books in Las Vegas offered refunds, called a “Good Karma Payout,” to betters who took the Blues on Wednesday.

“The combination of a clear hand pass and an unreviewable play made this a pretty easy decision,” PointsBet CEO Johnny Aitken said in a statement.