LAS VEGAS—Logan Couture’s second goal of the game, on the power play at 5:13 of the second overtime, lifted the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night, tying their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece. Moments after Vegas’ Jon Merrill was called for hooking, Couture found the back of the net, as the Sharks stole home-ice advantage from Vegas. The Golden Knights, who lost for the first time in six playoff games, thought they won in the first overtime when Jonathan Marchessault’s backhand sailed past Jones with 3:02 left, but officials ruled there was goaltender interference when Marchessault ran into Jones’ blocker and spun him around before his shot. Brent Burns also scored two goals and Martin Jones stopped 26 shots for San Jose, which was playing without suspended forward Evander Kane. William Karlsson scored twice, while Nate Schmidt got his first of the post-season to tie the score at 3-3 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 43 saves.
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Game 3 is Monday night at San Jose. It was the second straight series the Golden Knights went into double overtime in Game 2, with their opponent missing a key player due to suspension. Los Angeles was missing Drew Doughty in the opening round. Unlike the first game of this series, which saw the Golden Knights become the third NHL franchise to score at least seven goals in a playoff game during its inaugural season, Game 2 was much more physical, something that seemingly took Vegas out of its rhythm in the second period.
In Game 1, Vegas blocked 26 shots, to the Sharks’ 13, but San Jose held a 36-26 edge in Game 2. And after being whistled for 10 penalties in first series-opener, as opposed to Vegas’ five, the Golden Knights found themselves in the box more than San Jose, 11-6. Read more: NHL playoff stories to watch in Round 2 of the fight for the Stanley Cup Opinion | Damian Cox: Fleury’s Vegas heroics can’t be surprising any more Editorial: Vegas Golden Knights have beaten the odds The Golden Knights got on the board late in the first period after Colin Miller’s slap shot from the point sailed wide of the net, off the end boards and right to Karlsson, who found the back of the net from a tight angle. Karlsson notched his second goal when he took advantage of a turnover forced by Reilly Smith, overlooked passing it back to Smith, skated in and beat Martin Jones from the circle to put Vegas up 2-0 just 26 seconds into the second period. Burns brought an end to the Sharks’ 82-minute scoring drought when he picked up the puck off the draw and blasted a slap shot from the point to cut Vegas’ lead in half. Couture tied the game at 2 with a goal that conceivably could have been avoided. After blocking a shot by Dylan Demelo, Fleury pushed the puck to Deryk Engelland behind the net, rather than covering it up. Tomas Hertl got ahold of it and fed Couture, who one-timed in with just under nine minutes left in the second. Three minutes later, Burns gave San Jose a 3-2 lead after he snagged the puck off a faceoff, circled the back of the net and tucked it in on a wraparound. Schmidt tied the game when he took a pass from Shea Theodore and one-timed it from the blue line in the third.
Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (81) checks San Jose Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon (4) into the glass during overtime of Game 2. (Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports)
Stop us if you've heard this one before: There was a controversial goalie interference review in an NHL game.
This time, though, the stakes have never been higher.
The Vegas Golden Knights appeared to win Game 2 of their series against the San Jose Sharks in overtime on a goal by Jonathan Marchessault.
But, instead of a 2-0 series lead for the expansion team, the goal went to review and it was determined by the situation room in Toronto — which took over the process for goalie interference reviews late in the regular season — that Marchessault interfered with Sharks goalie Martin Jones before potting the rebound.
Golden Knights’ game-winner called back for goalie interference pic.twitter.com/RsypDHG4PC — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 29, 2018
The Sharks went on to win the game in the second overtime on a power-play goal by Logan Couture.
The loss was the first for the Golden Knights in the playoffs. The series now shifts to San Jose for Monday's Game 3 tied up 1-1.
Vegas for much of Saturday night tried to be something it’s not and paid an ultimate price, a 4-3 double-overtime loss to San Jose in Game 2 of a best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
Golden Knights fans shout at referees after the San Jose Sharks defeated the Golden Knights in double overtime in Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 28, 2018. Chase Stevens Las Vegas Review-Journal @csstevensphoto
Golden Knights fans react to a bad call during the first overtime period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 28, 2018. Chase Stevens Las Vegas Review-Journal @csstevensphoto
Gerard Gallant has said it so often this NHL season, you at times wondered if there was a clause in his contract that stipulated he promote the idea.
That, in short, the Golden Knights are not a team motivated by retaliatory actions or one that takes many foolish penalties.
The head coach reiterated it again Friday.
Then his team went out and played the exact opposite.
The best-of-seven Western Conference series between Vegas and San Jose is tied at a game apiece and deservedly so, this after the Sharks beat the Golden Knights 4-3 in double overtime on Saturday night before a season-high announced gathering of 18,671 at T-Mobile Arena.
They might have played nearly 95 minutes, but Vegas lost its chance to take a definitive lead in the series in the second period when it allowed three goals and by then had already amassed a season-high in penalties for a game.
The Knights would be penalized 11 times for 22 minutes in all and it was more than fitting that San Jose scored the game winner via a power play goal, as Jon Merrill was sent off for hooking and the Sharks ended things off Logan Couture’s blast past Marc-Andre Fleury.
Bottom line: Vegas for much of the evening tried to be something it’s not and paid an ultimate price.
Vegas for much of the evening wasn’t very good at anything.
“I wasn’t too happy about it, to be honest,” Gallant said. “They had seven power plays (really nine, but two ended almost immediately in San Jose goals, including the final one) and we had one, so I wasn’t too happy.
“We better be ready for (Game 3 on Monday night) because we didn’t show up 45 minutes. (San Jose) was the better team all night. We weren’t prepared to play. We weren’t fast or quick. We were lethargic most of the night and that’s on us.”
Vegas ranked second among NHL teams in penalty minutes with an average of just 6.8, but chose its most important game of the season thus far to be its most undisciplined.
Fact: Even while holding a 2-0 lead early in the second period, Vegas wasn’t the better side.
It wasn’t doing much at all consistently.
David Perron went to the box three times. Merrill and Colin Miller were each sent off twice. It was a parade of Knights for roughing and hooking and slashing and holding and high-sticking.
“We didn’t start playing before the third period,” said Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. “If we get back to our way of playing right from the get-go, we should be fine.
“Obviously, you don’t want that many (penalties) and have to kill (power plays) that much, but it’s the playoffs and the second round. Calls are the calls. It gets tighter out there and sometimes you make mistakes. Simple as that.”
The game will also be remembered for two goalie interference calls, and for those not watching through Vegas-colored glasses — does anyone like that still exist? — both were correct.
The first came after a second Brent Burns goal gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead in the second period. The Knights felt Fleury was interfered with, but replays showed Miller pushed Timo Meier into the Vegas goaltender.
The second disallowed what would have been a game-winner from Jonathan Marchessault for Vegas late in the first overtime. But before scoring, Marchessault hit San Jose goalie Martin Jones’ blocker and spun him, not allowing Jones to recover and make a play on the shot.
That the Knights has such a chance at all is surprising, having been outshot 47-29 and totally outplayed in 4-on-4 situations, twice during which the Sharks scored.
Here’s what Vegas can lean on heading to San Jose: It was 22-14-5 on the road during the regular season and won both games in Los Angeles in the first round of these playoffs. The Knights have been resilient in the face of adversity.
Besides, it was never going to be a 7-0 margin as in Thursday’s win by Vegas.
It wasn’t going to be close to that.
“We were better everywhere this game,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “We were better in every situation. We were better than them in 4-on-4, 5-on-5, special teams.
“We were better and got the result we deserved.”
All true.
The Knights on Saturday tried being something they’re not and had they won, would have done so in spite of themselves.
The series is 1-1 for a reason — because it should be.
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Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.
