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WCSF Game 2: Avalanche bite
back
Colorado ties series with 4-3 win
Playing to the whistle is something every coach
stresses, at every level. Marc-Edouard Vlasic didn't do that in Game 2 of the
Sharks Western Conference Semi Finals series with the Colorado Avalanche, and
it cost the Sharks. A non-call on an apparent icing that wasn't turned out to
be a turning point in the Sharks 4-3 loss to the Avalanche. Colorado knotted
the series at 1-1 with the victory, and claimed the home ice advantage in the
series.
For the second straight series, the Sharks allowed
questionable officiating to dictate the outcome of Game 2. The whole point of
no-touch icing is to prevent injuries that culminate from players flying into
the boards. Linesmen Pierre Racicot can be seen with his hand in the air to
signify icing, but his partner Trent Knorrr failed to hustle down the ice to
make the call. Knorr was inexplicably behind the play, which put him out of
position. Vlasic assumed the icing because he had positions on Mikko Rantanen.
The call wasn't made and Rantanen took control of the puck and fed
Gabriel Landeskog at the front of the net for a point blank shot. Sharks
goaltender Martin Jones made the save on Landeskog, but the puck kicked out to
Tyson Barrie, who whipped a 4 foot shot that caught the upper left corner of
the net.
Evander Kane and Brent Burns argued the icing, but the
non-call stood and the Sharks played from behind the rest of the game.
Vlasic was salty after the game.
"It was icing," The Sharks defenseman
chirped in the post game media scrum. I'm going to take the high road and
expect an apology tomorrow." Vlasic was referring to the alleged apology that
the NHL made to Vegas Knights GM George McPhee following Game 7.
San
Jose grabbed their only lead 7:57 into the game, when Kane swept home a rebound
past Avalanche goaltender Phillip Grubauer from the doorstep. Burns ripped a
shot from the right point that caught Grubauer in the blocker, then the chest
before the puck landed out in front for Kane to convert his 2nd goal of the
playoffs.
The Sharks missed on plenty of opportunities in that opening
period. A boarding penalty on Nikita Zadorov setup one of three power play
chances in the game, but the Sharks spent the first minute trying to establish
the zone. They swarmed Grubauer in the period, out-shooting Colorado 11-6, but
couldn't build on their lead.
Like in Game 1, the 2nd period allowed
the eventual winner to overcome an deficit and seize control of the game.
Colorado tied the game at 1-1 8:21 into the frame on a
strong forecheck that kept the Sharks pinned in their own zone. Rookie Lukas
Radil bit on a spin move by Barrie, who then fired a shot from the left point.
Landeskog was parked in front and tipped the shot past Jones to square things
up.
After the non-icing fiasco, the Avalanche built on their lead in
the 3rd period when former Shark Matt Nieto was credited with his 3rd goal of
the playoffs at 10:10. The Sharks turned the puck over at their own blueline,
which allowed Barrie to put a shot on net. Jones made a pad save, then tried
holding his left skate against the right post as Matt Calvert took three hacks
at the puck.
It took that long for the Sharks defense to show up, but
the puck slipped under Jones where Brendan Dillon tried to sweep it clear of
the crease, but Nieto was there to tie up Dillon and get the puck across the
goal line.
Burns made it a 1-goal game with 4:34 to play when he fired
a shot past Grubauer from the right circle. The Sharks defenseman actually
eliminated an Avalanche defener moments earlier with a shot that snapped
Alexander Kerfoot's skate blade off his skate. Erik Karlsson moved the rebound
back to Burns who ripped a shot that was deflected by an Avalanche defender
past Grubauer.
San Jose was forced to pull Jones with 1:30 left in
regulation, but the Sharks tried dumping the puck into the Colorado zone
without chasing it. That allowed the Avalanche to move the puck up the ice
where Nathan MacKinnon buried it on a breakaway. Burns leveled Calvert with a
hip-check that floored the Colorado winger. Had Burns tried to get a stick in
front of Calvert, it may have disrupted the pass to MacKinnon.
Referee
Gord Dwyer called a late holding penalty on Ian Cole which setup a power play
with 18 seconds left in regulation. The Sharks won the ensuing faceoff and
moved the puck over to Burns on the left dot, where he ripped a shot past
Grubauer, but it only left 10 seconds on the clock.
San Jose actually
moved the ensuing facoff into the Avalanche zone, but they could not generate a
shot as the clock expired.
Game Notes:
* Lots of
questions regarding fatigue were brought up in the locker room after the game.
Logan Couture alluded to fatigue, but Evander Kane wasn't having any of it.
Kane referred to the opening period, which was all Sharks.
* The
series now shifts to Denver, where the altitude will play a factor in the
series. The Sharks beat the Avalanche in Colorado in their only match-up in the
Mile High City back in early January.
* Lukas Radil was the only Shark
skater who did not register a shot on goal. The Sharks rookie missed on a
defensive assignment that led to Landeskog's tying goal in the 2nd period.
Radil was limited to 18 shifts in the game.
* Micheal Haley made his
return to the Sharks lineup after sustaining an ankle injury in the Vegas
series. Dylan Gambrell moved upstairs to the press box after his penalty led to
an Avalanche goal in Game 1.
* Melker Karlsson was injured in the 3rd
period when he was checked into the glass on a hit from behind. The Sharks
winger appeared to be favoring his left arm.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| COL |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ, Kane
2 (Burns, Hertl), 7:57. |
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| 2nd period - 2, COL,
Landeskog 2 (Barrie, MacKinnon), 8:21. 3, COL, Barrie 1 (Landeskog, Rantanen),
16:31. |
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| 3rd period - 4, COL,
Nieto 3 (Calvert, Barrie), 10:10. 5, SJ, Burns 3 (E. Karlsson, Sorensen),
15:26. 6, COL, MacKinnon 4 (Calvert, Grubauer), 18:58, (en). 7, SJ, Burns 4
(Hertl, Kane), 19:49, (pp). |
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| 1st period - Zadorov,
COL (boarding), 15:05. |
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| 2nd period - Soderberg,
COL (holding), 4:37; Vlasic, SJ (slashing), 19:16. |
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| 3rd period - Meier, SJ
(tripping), 16:15; Cole, COL (holding), 19:42. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| COL - Grubauer |
34 |
31 |
| SJ - Jones |
31 |
28 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| COL |
6 |
13 |
13 |
32 |
| SJ |
11 |
13 |
10 |
34 |
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| Referees: Dwyer,
Rooney. Linesmen: Knorr, Racicot. |
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