Five keys to Sharks' exhilarating double-overtime win over Golden Knights in Game 2

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The Sharks experienced opposite sides of the sporting spectrum within a 48-hour span.

In Game 1: Their worst franchise loss in 217 playoff appearances.

In Game 2: One of their most hard-fought, narrowest margins of victory in 20 postseasons.

It’s actually difficult to identify only five key points in a contest that went double-overtime, and a series which instantly gained quadruple the amount of storylines.

1: What a momentum swing. And we’re only two games in.

Not only were the Sharks drubbed 7-0 on Thursday night, they also lost Evander Kane to a suspension for Game 2. After the defeat, head coach Pete DeBoer described San Jose as having a “laundry list of issues” to fix before Saturday night. Quite the change of scenery from then to now. The series goes to SAP Center tied at 1, where Kane will return to the lineup, in a best-of-five series, in which the Sharks will have home-ice advantage. Sounds a lot better now, right? 

2: The Sharks made statements all night.

Whether it was their physical presence… erasing an 0-2 deficit… playing without Kane… or staying calm after it looked like Jonathan Marchessault scored in the first overtime -- the Sharks resilience was on full display in Las Vegas.  During the game I felt like the second period was a turning point in the evening.  And now in retrospect, I wonder if the game itself was a turning point of the series. It’s a common expression that you’d “rather lose in a blowout, than lose a game in overtime”. The Golden Knights now face their first mental adversity of the playoffs, only magnified by the fashion of defeat.  The pressure now lies on them to respond in a road situation.     

3:  Brent Burns, X-Factor

The Sharks potted 16 goals in the first round. And considering his offensive prowess, you’d think Burns would have been responsible for more than one goal, and one assist. However, with such a deep display of scoring – nobody was overly concerned. In Game 2 where Logan Couture was the overtime hero, Burns’ pair of goals was instrumental in the comeback. We know he was dealing with some sort of ailment at the end of Round 1, and if the eight-day layoff helped anyone best, you’d have to imagine it would be number 88. If he picks up the pace moving forward in this series, watch out: Vegas (like most teams in the league) doesn’t have a defenseman who can score a wrap-around like Burns did in the second period.

4: This one has to be four-on-four success.

In 82 regular season games, the Sharks had precisely ONE four-on-four goal. Saturday night in Nevada, they had TWO. The less-than-regular situation presented itself numerous times in the game… Neal and DeMelo tangled. So did Dillon and Perron, as did Vlasic and Marchessault, as did Dillon and Perron (again). The extracurriculars were largely initiated by Vegas, but certainly did not help them. Neither did the pair of power play goals scored by San Jose.

5: The legend of Goalie Interference continues.

The fate of the Sharks lied in Toronto for a good two, to three minutes. In the end, it was decided that Marchessault made contact with the goalie’s stick. It spun him around 90 degrees to the left.  Which prevented Jones “from his job” as stated in Rule 78.7.  If you watched any hockey this past season, you know the goalie interference controversy came to an apex. Good teams, bad teams, they were all helped and hurt by a rule that was not consistently explained or enforced in black-and-white terms. You rarely see Jones in such bad position, and you rarely see him turn straight towards the officials after allowing a goal. Both happened, and gave an indication that the night was likely not over. Even as the Vegas players and fans were elated with (supposed) victory. It’s weird to say this now, but I’ll trade the handful of times I know the Sharks got hosed by this rule in the regular season… for the time Saturday night when the NHL got it right.  

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