After both clubs split each of the first two games of the series, the Colorado Avalanche took a 2-1 lead in the series over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night. The Sharks outplayed the Avalanche during the entire game and managed to get on the scoreboard, unfortunately it was the wrong end of the score sheet.
51 seconds into overtime Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle attempted to pass the puck behind his own net. Instead, the puck was directed towards Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and slipped past him for the game winning goal. "We didn't beat their goalie," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "We found a way to beat ours."
Avalanche center Ryan O’Reilly was credited with the game winning goal. "Overall, they outplayed us today," O'Reilly said. "Andy kept us in it. Andy deserved this one.”
Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson stopped 51 shots in his first career playoff shutout. Over the years, Anderson has gotten use to being peppered with a high volume number of shots playing in cities like Chicago, Florida and now Colorado. It wasn’t the typical ending either team expected in game three but this is playoff hockey and we need to expect the unexpected.
As for Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle, his teammates have their full support. "It's unfortunate. It happens," Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. "It's not his fault and nobody blames him." One thing is for sure, if the Sharks hope to erase the memories of seasons past, they will need to win this series to show the fans of San Jose that they are not pretenders. They must show resilience in game four and provide a reason for why they were the top seed in the Western Conference.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment