By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
If you were in Las Vegas or San Jose tonight you’ll have a hockey story for the ages to tell the grandkids.
In Las Vegas, it was a painful, heartbreaking and sickening end to Game 7 for the Vegas Golden Knights — and the second season for the VGK franchise.
In San Jose, it was a joyful comeback — and a second consecutive overtime win for the Sharks over the Knights that was both a controversial bizarre outcome and wildly up-and-down emotional roller coaster ride that swung on a referee’s call with the VGK leading 3-0 in the third period at SAP Center in downtown San Jose.
Golden Knights center Cody Eakin was called for a highly-controversial five-minute major and a 10-minute misconduct on a cross check against Sharks forward Joe Pavelski after a face-off with the Knights leading by three goals in the third period. Pavelski then was hit by VGK center Paul Statsny, with Pavelski falling backwards and his head slamming the ice. The Sharks then poured in four goals in three minutes during the major penalty to take a 4-3 lead before VGK forward Jonathan Marchessault scored to knot the game at four with less than a minute left in regulation as fans’ emotions were taken for a surreal ride in period three. The Sharks scored late in OT to advance to play the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2.
“We thought we played well enough to win this series,” VGK forward Max Pacioretty said after the crushing loss. “It’ll be tough to digest for a while. We have to use this adversity to get better.”
Golden Knights players and coaches went through the handshake line with the Sharks with a sickening and stunned feeling because the five-minute major in the third period breathed new life into a San Jose squad that was down three goals at the time. The penalty turned into a four-goal power play for the Sharks and turned the game upside-down.
At his locker, Marchessault cursed to describe the ref’s call. “It’s embarrassing,” the Knights’ feisty center said.
“It’s a shame that happened. We should be playing the next game,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant added after the game. “It was an awful call.”
Several thousand fans who gathered to watch Game 7 on the plaza outside T-Mobile Arena sat stunned and their earlier cheers after three VGK goals turned to quiet anxiety as the Sharks climbed back into the game and went ahead in the third period.
The Golden Knights TV play-by-play broadcaster Dave Goucher tweeted his thought on the controversial five-minute major penalty after the game: “I’ll just say the VGK paid a brutal price for a brutal call. The NFL changed a rule after the Saints debacle. The NHL should follow suit.”
For the record, the Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow scored the winning goal in OT at 18:19 when he cut across in front VGK goalie Marc-Andre Floury and slid the pick past the sprawling veteran goaltender. Here are the numbers:
The official VGK watch party outside T-Mobile Arena drew a lively crowd, including superfan Christopher Green who cranked the siren to get the game broadcast going on the big screen outside the Big Ice House by the Strip.
And the crowd exploded when the Knights scored.
The season is over for the Golden Knights, which had a 3-1 lead in games over the Sharks before San Jose won the final three games, including the last two in OT, to claim the Round 1 win. The Knights sent out an email to thank the fans, who attended VGK games and watched them on TV in record fashion in Season 2.
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