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Sharks take Game 3 with OT winner Sharks turn the tables with first win of the series 5/18/13 - By Mike Lee - If the plot lines of the Sharks playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings weren't already intriguing enough, Game 3 threw in a few more twists and turns to spice things up. Fresh off the travesty that was the officiating blunder in Los Angeles on Thursday night, the officiating played a major role in the outcome of Saturday night's contest, which marked the first game at HP Pavilion in the series. This time it was the Sharks who had the luxury of a two-man advantage to end the game. They would use that advantage to score a goal in overtime to take a 2-1 decision, and cut into the Kings series lead by the same 2-1 count. Logan Couture overcame an ankle or leg injury in the 3rd period to score the game winner. Couture suffered is injury 4 minutes into the 2nd period after he was checked into the boards closest to the penalty boxes by Jeff Carter, catching the wall with his left skate that appeared to bend at the ankle. The forward then hobbled across the ice and headed straight to the locker room. He returned with a minute left in the period to the delight of the sellout crowd. The Kings got to taste the bitterness of a defending a 5-on-3 situation with the game on the line after Robin Regehr hooked Tommy Wingels with 42 seconds left in regulation in a 1-1 game. The Kings worked a turnover on the ensuing power play and worked the puck deep into the Sharks zone. As Carter took a drop pass for a shot attempt, centerman Trevor Lewis coasted tried driving to the net, and ended up crashing into Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi, drawing a goaltender interference penalty. Lewis' penalty came with 5 seconds left in the period, which meant that 1:18 of 5-on-3 power play time would carry over into overtime. The Kings killed off Regehr's penalty, but Patrick Marleau took a Joe Thornton feed as sat perched along the right post, then slid the setup to Couture in the slot. Couture lifted the puck under the cross bar as Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick guessed wrong on the location of the one-timer, sliding to his right as the shot headed for the right half of the goal. The arena erupted as Couture skated toward his own bench and dropping to both knees as he pumped his fists in celebration. Quick on the other hand, had a few select comments that he elected to share with referees Wes McCauley and Marc Joannette after slamming his stick across the goal post. The outburst would earn Quick a meaningless game misconduct penalty. Quick's outburst wasn't the only ranting that McCauley and Joannette had to deal with. Lewis slammed his stick across the glass after his goaltender interference penalty was called, and Drew Doughty went out of his way to track down Joannette and bark his displeasure with the call. The Sharks opened the game's scoring in the 1st period after Jake Muzzin tossed the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. It was the same penalty that Marc-Edouard Vlasic drew in Game 2 to setup the Kings game turning 5-on-3 power play. Dan Boyle snapped an 0-for-7 drought on the power play in the series by ripping a shot from the point, beating Quick. Thornton helped create the scoring chance by screening Quick on the play. Kings head coach Darryl Sutter lobbied for an interference call on the goal, but McCauley wasn't going to wave off the tally. Los Angeles tied the game at 1-1 after Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart made a colossal gaff by sending a limp-wristed backhand pass right to Tyler Toffoli at the top of the right circle. Toffoli slid to the slot before sending a backhand shot that slipped past Niemi for his 1st career playoff goal. Stuart tried to atone for his blunder by knocking Kings winger Justin Williams into June with a hit along the boards. Williams didn't do much of anything the remainder of the game, but much could be said about his teammates, with the exception of Quick, who was forced to face 40 shots throughout the evening. San Jose dominated the middle period, outshooting Los Angeles 14-7. Andrew Desjardins missed on a golden opportunity to put the Sharks up when Joe Pavelski slid the puck to him in at the top of the Kings crease, but the Sharks forward couldn't elevate the puck over Quick's right leg pad. Thornton also missed on a wrap-around chance early in the 3rd period that seemed destined for the back of the net, but the puck slid off his stick just enough to push the puck wide of the left post. The Sharks were forced to play a man down from the end of the 1st period after Martin Havlat re-aggravated his undisclosed lower-body injury. Havlat made his return to the lineup after missing the last five games, which included the final three games of the Conference Quarter Final series with the Vancouver Canucks and the first two games of the Conference Semi-Finals with Los Angeles. Game Notes: The Sharks found themselves $100,000 lighter in the wallet on Saturday after the NHL handed down a hefty fine for General Manager Doug Wilson's remarks related to the suspension of Raffi Torres following Game 1 with the Kings. Wilson and the Sharks released a press release on Friday, following Torres' suspension, which outlined the Sharks disagreement with the suspension, including their rationale as to why the league's explanation was essentially nonsense. Part of the fine was issued because the Sharks were required to wait 48 hours from the announcement of the suspension before making any public comments. Why this is the case, incorporates as much reason as the league's explanation for Torres's suspension in the first place. SHARE THIS STORY: What did you think of this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums

What did you think of this story? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums Scoring 1 2 3 1OT T LA 1 0 0 0 1 SJ 1 0 0 1 2 1st period - 1, SJ, Boyle 2 (Marleau, Pavelski), 1:34, (pp). 2, LA, Toffoli 1 (unassisted), 10:08. 2nd period - None. 3rd period - None. 1st Overtime - 3, SJ, Couture 4 (Marleau, Thornton), 1:29, (pp). Penalties 1st period - Muzzin, LA (delay of game - puck over glass), 1:30; Carter, LA (tripping), 7:52; Burns, SJ (tripping), 18:25. 2nd period - Vlasic, SJ (roughing), 11:23; Richards, LA (roughing), 19:33; Gomez, SJ (roughing), 19:33. 3rd period - Brown, LA (slashing), 14:44; Regehr, LA (hooking), 19:18; Lewis, LA (goaltender interference), 19:55. Overtime - Quick, LA (game misconduct - abuse of an official), 1:29. Goaltending Shots Saves LA - Quick 40 38 SJ - Niemi 27 26 Shots On Goal 1 2 3 1OT T LA 11 7 9 0 27 SJ 14 14 10 2 40 Power Play Conversion LA 0 of 2 SJ 2 of 5 3 Stars of the Game Logan Couture Antti Niemi Jonathan Quick Attendence 17,562 Officials Referees: McCauley, Joannette. Linesmen: Heyer, Kovachik.

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