AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Colin Miller, center, is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series in San Jose, Calif., Monday, April 30, 2018.
Published Monday, April 30, 2018 | 4 p.m.
Updated Monday, April 30, 2018 | 10:19 p.m.
SAN JOSE — The Golden Knights have stolen home ice advantage back for the second round of the playoffs.
Vegas entered a crazed SAP Center in San Jose Monday night and emerged with a 4-3 overtime win to take a 2-1 lead over the Sharks in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
William Karlsson scored his fifth goal of the playoffs in overtime to seal the win for Vegas.
The Golden Knights took a 3-1 lead in the second period behind three goals on one-timer shots by Colin Miller, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith in a span of less than five minutes.
Miller and Marchessault’s goals came on the power play, redeeming the Golden Knights’ of a poor performance on the special teams during Saturday night’s loss in Las Vegas.
The Sharks rallied late with a goal by Evander Kane with 12 minutes to play. Kane sniped a shot into the short side top corner, beating Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove hand to cut the Sharks’ deficit to 3-2.
Gerard Gallant challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld after review.
Tomas Hertl then tied the game with only 1:57 to play by jamming a rebound attempt past Fleury to force overtime.
Fleury was strong in net for Vegas, and finished with 39 saves on 42 shots to earn his sixth playoff win in seven games.
The teams will continue the series with game four on Wednesday night.
teams tied 3-3 after regulation
For the second straight game the Golden Knights have blown a two-goal lead to allow San Jose to force overtime.
Vegas entered the third period with a 3-1 lead but the Sharks rallied to tie the game 3-3 and force sudden death overtime.
Sharks forward Evander Kane sniped a shot into the short side top corner, beating Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove hand to cut the Sharks’ deficit to 3-2 with 12 minutes to play. Vegas coach Gerard Gallant challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld after review.
Then in the game’s waning moments Tomas Hertl whacked a rebound past Fleury to tie the game.
The Sharks have a 39-30 advantage in shots on goal through 60 minutes of hockey.
Golden Knights lead 3-1 after two periods
The Golden Knights scored three goals in a span of five minutes to take a 3-1 lead over the Sharks in San Jose.
The Sharks opened the scoring with a power play goal by Timo Meier and appeared to be in complete control of the game with more than double the shots on goal. Then David Perron drew a penalty on Brendan Dillon and Vegas took advantage.
James Neal found Colin Miller streaking in front of the goal and Miller flipped the puck over a diving Jones to tie the game 1-1.
Minutes later Jonathan Marchessault scored the Golden Knights’ second power play goal of the game on a one-timer following a great cross-ice pass by Alex Tuch.
Before the goal could even be announced over the loud speakers at SAP Center, Reilly Smith scored the Golden Knights’ third straight goal to give Vegas a two-goal lead entering the final period.
Marc-Andre Fleury has stopped 31-of-32 shots faced through two periods, keeping the Golden Knights in the game until they found their offense.
Golden Knights, Sharks scoreless after one period
SAN JOSE — The San Jose crowd brought the energy early at SAP Center, and the Sharks fed off it.
The Sharks dominated the Golden Knights for the first period of game three Monday night, outshooting Vegas 14-4 at one point.
Escaping the first 20 minutes with a scoreless tie is a minor victory for the Golden Knights after Marc-Andre Fleury was forced to make 17 shots and do everything but stand on his head to keep the puck out of his net.
Vegas did play better as the period went on, created a few scoring chances on Sharks’ goaltender Martin Jones.
The Golden Knights had slow starts to both road playoff games in Los Angeles, so this continues the trend. They were able to eventually overwhelm the Kings in those games but San Jose is more talented and has a deeper roster so it’s not a formality that will happen tonight.
Pre game
Following their first loss of the postseason, Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant is expected to make a change to his lineup for tonight’s game in San Jose.
Tomas Tatar — who was acquired from the Red Wings at the trade deadline for first, second and third-round draft picks — will likely rejoin the Golden Knights after sitting out the last four games as a healthy scratch. He is expected to replace Ryan Carpenter and play alongside David Perron and Cody Eakin on Vegas’ third line after skating with that group during morning skate.
Tatar was a consistent scorer during his time in Detroit, scoring at least 19 goals in six straight seasons, but has struggled to find his stride with the Golden Knights. In 20 games with Vegas he has managed only four goals and two assists, being shutout with only three shots in his two postseason appearances.
The Golden Knights are looking for a spark after dropping game two 4-3 in double overtime, expecting to face a hostile environment in San Jose.
“We have to be ready to start the game,” James Neal said. “They’re going to be buzzing. It’s a hard rink to play in and it’s loud so we have to be ready.”
The Sharks will be without top-line winger Joonas Donskoi who will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury, but San Jose is getting Evander Kane back after a one game suspension.
With the series tied 1-1 tonight’s game holds a lot of significance. Based on historical results, the Golden Knights have a 71.6 percent chance to win the series with a win tonight, but only 37 percent chance with a loss.
“We should be (ready to go) regardless,” Neal said. “It’s playoffs and we have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. If that doesn’t get you going then I don’t know what will.”
Prediction: Golden Knights 3, Sharks 1
Playoffs record for predictions: 4-2
Season record for predictions: 38-26
Puck drops: 7:00 p.m.
Where: SAP Center, San Jose
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 1038, Dish Network 159)
Betting line: Golden Knights plus-110, Total 5.5 minus-135 to the under
Golden Knights playoff record (5-1) (2-0 away)
Coach: Gerard Gallant
Playoffs goal leader: William Karlsson (3)
Playoffs assist leader: Reilly Smith (7)
Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (5-1, 1.00 goals against average)
San Jose Sharks playoff record(5-1) (2-0 home)
Coach: Peter DeBoer
Playoffs goal leader: Logan Couture (4)
Playoffs assist leader: Joe Pavelski (6)
Expected goalie: Martin Jones (5-1, 2.07 goals against average)
Golden Knights expected game day roster
Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, William Karlsson, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, Tomas Nosek, David Perron, Reilly Smith, Tomas Tatar and Alex Tuch.
Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill, Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore.
Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban
Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.
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