After Game 5 in San Jose, Tomas Hertl stated that the Sharks were the better team and he guaranteed they would return to San Jose to play Game 7. Not only were his words somewhat true, as there will be a Game 7 tomorrow night, but he took matters into his own hands by scoring a double-overtime shorthanded goal to make it a reality.
The Sharks weren’t the better team; they just won a game the VGK pretty much dominated from the second period right up until Hertl scored, to the dismay of the VGK players, the coaching staff, and the 18,458 who filled T-Mobile to the rafters.
It was also the first shorthanded goal in NHL history that decided a double-overtime game — and the first time the San Jose Sharks have ever forced a Game 7 after trailing in a series 3-1.
Last night’s loss was the second consecutive time that Vegas failed to win a series close-out game. In the 2018 playoffs, they were 3-0 in close-out games.
Tomorrow night will be the first Game 7 the Knights have ever played.
It was a heart-pumping game to watch, as Vegas threw everything they had and then some at Martin Jones, who made a career-high (including playoffs) 58 saves on the Golden Knights’ 59 shots from every possible angle. Jones was the only reason there will be a Game 7. In the last two games, the much-maligned Jones has been spectacular, with a 1.19 GAA and a save percentage of .967. Last night, Jones was the better goaltender and it’s not often that Marc-André Fleury gets outplayed. Martin Jones gave up 16 goals in Games 2, 3, and 4, while his team scored only six against Fleury.
If, at 3 p.m. yesterday one hour before the game started, I was to guarantee you that Fleury would give up only two goals for the entire game, you would have gone to every sports book in town and bet as much as you could on Vegas to win the game and, for the first time in their short history, clinch a playoff series at T-Mobile.
But sometimes things that seem like a guarantee don’t always come through. No one in Las Vegas or, for that matter, a lot of fans in San Jose really gave Tomas Hertl’s Game 7 guarantee a thought, due to the home-ice advantage at T-Mobile, the fact that Vegas dominated the two previous home games, the unpredictable Martin Jones who had been replaced in goal twice within the first four games, along with the fact that the Stone line scored 28 points (12 goals and 16 assists) in the first four games and was held scoreless in Game 5. They would for sure get back on track and with my guarantee that Fleury would give up two goals, how could they possibly lose?
They did and it doesn’t seem fair. It actually stings and you could sense that as the 18,000-plus fans silently exited T-Mobile. The mood among the players in the locker room was somber. They said what needed to be said about putting this game behind them about getting some rest for Game 7.
This loss last night will not be easy to overcome. It will be gut-check time on Tuesday night. They say momentum and emotions don’t carry over from one game to another. But this loss, especially the way it happened, has to inspire the Sharks, who somehow found a way to be dominated at T-Mobile as expected, yet still win a game they had no business winning, especially while killing a penalty. The VGK power play was a force in this series for the first five games. Last night, not only was it 0-3, but the power-play unit was scored on for the game-winner.
The winning goal appeared to change directions on Fleury. Shea Theodore played Hertl’s stick and allowed a shot from a distance that Fleury stops the next 100 times he faces it from that far out. Did Theodore’s stick play cause the puck to move on Fleury? It appears it might have, but Fleury didn’t acknowledge that in his post-game interview.
The other Sharks’ goal, scored by Logan Couture, was another strange play that wound up behind Fleury. It was an alley-oop pass from Timo Meier from his defensive zone as the first period was coming to an end. The pass landed between the skates of Deryk Engelland, whence it was scooped up by Couture who beat Fleury from almost the same spot as Hertl’s goal. Couture’s goal was scored with just under nine seconds left in the period. It gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead and continued the trend of these past six games: zero lead changes. The team that scored first has won every game.
Jonathan Marchessault scored the lone Vegas goal 11:20 into the second period to tie the score and bring the crowd to its feet. They seemed to never sit down after that: for the remaining 8:40 of the second period and the 48:43 of the rest of the game. Marchessault’s goal was his third of the series and he has scored in three straight games. Unfortunately, two of them came in Games 5 and 6, which Vegas lost. Even the well-known energy that the VGK feed off of could not get another puck past Martin Jones.
There is one silver lining to this seemingly dark cloud of having a 3-1 series lead turn into a 3-3 series. The Sharks played only five defensemen for most of the game; their sixth, Ryan Joakim, played only 11 shifts and had just 7:12 of ice time in a game that was 91 minutes and 17 seconds long. The other five averaged 44 shifts with an average ice time of 35 minutes. Brent Burns led all skaters from both teams with 42:12 of ice time.
When you factor this amount of ice time for the Sharks’ defensemen and include the 80 hits delivered on Shark players, the first period on Tuesday night will be imperative for the VGK to get on the forecheck and pressure the fatigued Sharks’ defense.
Plus, an early goal on Jones may rattle his confidence and inspire the VGK, who have a huge task upon them. Good teams rise to the occasion. Good teams win Game 7’s.
Vegas has a chance to put their mark not only on this series, but on the character and determination of their team. If they win tomorrow night, they might stamp their return ticket to the Stanley Cup Final. A win in Game 7 after blowing a 3-1 series lead is and will be something they can draw on in the upcoming rounds. Remember what happened to Washington in their first-round series last year against Columbus.
My 3 Stars of the Game: Martin Jones (58 saves), Tomas Hertl (guaranteed a Game 7 and scored the winning goal to boot), Logan Couture (1 goal and was on the ice for both San Jose goals for a +2).
The next game is the do-or-die Game 7, tomorrow night Tuesday April 23rd at 7 p.m.
Your comments and opinions are welcome and appreciated here at LasVegasAdvisor.com (to comment, you just have to register on the site, which takes all of 30 seconds and is free, of course). You can also contact me directly at [email protected] or visit my Facebook page, Vegas Hockey Guy.
And for the most comprehensive coverage of the Vegas Golden Knights’ historic inaugural season, take a look at our book Vegas Golden Knights—How a First-Year Expansion Team Healed Las Vegas and Shocked the Hockey World.
The rest of the videos:
Never miss another post
1. How do you know that the Sharks, in fact, AREN’T the better team?
2. How was the result of Game 6 “unfair”?
It’s best not to be rabidly partisan in these narratives. Both teams have large fan bases. Both teams are composed of highly skilled professionals. Both teams want to win. The one thing I hate about going to live sports events are the cretins who boo every time a decision goes against “their” team and cheer every time one goes in “their” team’s favor. Chances are, they refer to the team as “we” even though they aren’t actually members of it.
Vegas benefits from having NHL hockey. That would still be true even if the VGK lost 3/4 of their games.
Kevin I have been watching and attending NHL games for a long time and I truly believe I can judge a teams ability to a very accurate degree. VGK have a better starting goaltender. VGK have 4 solid lines and basically 2 lines that would be the #1 line for just about every other NHL team. The one part of the VGK that needs some help is on their defense. But even with that the duo of Burns and Karlsson are a big liability for the Sharks in their own defensive zone. On the offensive side of the puck they are good.
2) The result of game 6 was unfair because VGK dominated play for most of the game. The last 10 minutes of the 3rd period San Jose was content to just shoot the puck down the ice hoping to get it to overtime when one lucky bounce or shot could make the difference as opposed to trying to outwork outplay and out hustle Vegas in 60 minutes of playing time.
Also my blogs if you were to take the time to read them are not at all bias o rabidly partisan. I try to be fair as possible,sorry that you do not see my writing this way
Fleury was caught leaning the wrong way, thinking Hertl was going far side, just as Couture did. It was not one of his better moments. … As for the San Jose D, the return of Vlasic has given them a major boost. There’s no denying it. And Jones has obviously worked with his goaltending coach a lot in recent days, because he’s rediscovered his game at the right time. He looks confident, is cutting down his angles and not allowing many rebounds. His confidence, the improved defensive play and home-ice advantage are a bad combination for VGK heading into the franchise’s first Game 7.
Scooter you make very valid points but in my opinion they were lucky to get to a game 7 and as I write this the results of game 7 are painfully evident. A minor 2 minute penalty was called as a 5 minute major. A BOGUS call that help decide a game instead of letting the players decide.
Comment I received
Great writing on a sad game. Thank you for your accurate accounting and insight.