It’s safe to say no one expected THAT to happen.
The Golden Knights take a 3-0 lead going into the last period on Game 7 in the first-round series against the San Jose Sharks. Only in a Hollywood film would the Sharks end up winning the game in overtime, yet that’s what happened at the SAP Center on Tuesday night as the VGK lost in disappointing fashion.
However, to talk about how the Knights got there, we have to look at the whole series.
Game 1 was a disaster for the Golden Knights. Usually San Jose netminder Martin Jones is terrorized by Vegas’s fast play and quick goals. However, the Knights didn’t show up to that game ready to play. Whether it’s because they didn’t have home ice or they were jet lagged, it didn’t really matter, and they headed into a second game in San Jose losing the first of seven 5-2. The series did not look promising for Vegas.
Something happened between Game 1 and 2 — maybe fans performed a sacrificial ritual or just washed their lucky shirt — but the magic was there and it didn’t stop for three games. The Stone-Stastny-Pacioretty line combined for 12 goals, 28 total points, and 34 shots on goal, the majority of the goals coming in the first minutes of each period. They were unstoppable, Jones was pulled and San Jose didn’t have any answers. Vegas just had to win one more game to clinch the series. One. More. Game.
At this point, Vegas was favored by a large margin. They were set to win. It’s not surprising they couldn’t do it at SAP Center during Game 5. The Sharks are a difficult team to beat at home and they weren’t going to end their season without a fight. Vegas didn’t play as a horrendous of a game in the likes of their Game 1 performance, but the Sharks were the better team and the 5-2 score reflected it. Still, the Knights had two opportunities to shut it all down and move on to face the Colorado Avalanche.
Before getting into Games 6 and 7, I have to say, like most people, I was wrong about the trajectory of the playoffs, but wow, the door just blew wide open to the Cup.
Game 6 was interesting in that for the first time, the better team didn’t win. Statistically, outside of the first period, the Knights dominated the entire game. They controlled the Sharks’ zone and didn’t allow for many opportunities. However, the shots would not land for Vegas, despite having nearly 60 shots on Jones, and the Sharks held on to a 1-1 tie going into double OT. The chance came for Vegas to clinch the series when the Sharks were called for slashing and gave Vegas the power play about 10 minutes into the second overtime. But, things went absolutely unexpectedly when Hertl slammed one past Fleury shorthanded to win the game and send the series to Game 7.
This series was expected to go to seven games because both teams are evenly matched in terms of talent and capabilities. However, neither fan base expected it to happen in this fashion. After taking a demanding 3-1 lead in the series, the Sharks made it interesting and forced Vegas to come to enemy territory to get the deed done.
For all intents and purposes, it seemed like Vegas lived up to the challenge in Game 7, scoring a goal per period and leading the Sharks 3-0 with half of the third period to go. Thus far in the series, the team who scored first went on to win the game, and William “Wild Bill” Karlsson sealed the deal in the first period in hopes of keeping that trend alive. Cody Eakin and Pacioretty followed suit and Sharks fans were throwing in the towel.
Then this happened:
Here's the play. No arm up by either ref, and especially the one staring at the play the entire time. https://t.co/QomMdmZpCL https://t.co/D6HM0HepDS
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 24, 2019
Eakin cross-checked Sharks captain Joe Pavelski after a face-off in the Golden Knights’ zone, causing him to lose balance, run into Stastny and hit the ice head-first. Blood from an unknown location spilled onto the ice and it appeared as if Pavelski had lost consciousness. In the madness that ensued with Pavelski needing help off the ice, Eakin was assessed a 5-minute major penalty and a 10-minute game misconduct — even though the officials did not call a penalty on the original play.
Here is the explanation of the penalty on Cody Eakin from series supervisor Don vanMassenhoven:
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) April 24, 2019
“The referees called a crosschecking penalty for an infraction that caused a significant injury. In their judgment, the infraction and its result merited a major penalty.”
It what most sports analysts called the worst call in hockey history, the Sharks capitalized on the anger and energy of the crowd to gather momentum and put four goals into the back of the net in the 5-minute span. Suddenly, the Sharks were up 4-3 on Vegas with just minutes remaining. However, the Knights weren’t going to let their season go just yet, and Jonathan Marchessault hammered one home to tie the game once more with less than 50 seconds left, effectively sending the game into overtime for the second game in a row.
One of the worst calls I’ve ever seen
— Ryan Whitney (@ryanwhitney6) April 24, 2019
Game 6 overtime was a shift-by-shift period and a half where both teams traded chances, but this was not the case in Game 7. The Sharks dominated the majority of the play minus a few good looks by the Knights, and eventually capitalized on the moment when Goodrow scored, sending the Sharks to round 2 and the Knights packing.
It is safe to say this is not how anyone expected the series or the season to end. There were multiple opportunities for the Knights to get it done, and they left the door open just enough for the Sharks to walk in and take the series away. It is also undeniable that Vegas was on their way to finishing what they started when that 5-minute major on an unfortunate but no-call play shifted the momentum of the game in the Sharks’ favor.
Jonathon Marchessault’s take on game 7...
— Knights Guild (@VGKKNIGHTS) April 24, 2019
Embarrassing #vegasborn #vegasgoldenknights pic.twitter.com/pkAIOJHbsK
NHL fans will be looking to the league to repair what is obviously a broken system in penalty-reviews to hopefully prevent what happened to Vegas from happening ever again. See you in October, Knights fans. Go Knights Go.
"Tonight was tougher than that." - Gallant on this loss being tougher than losing in the Final last season. #VegasBorn
— Ryan The Hockey Guy (@RyanHockeyGuy) April 24, 2019
