Golden Knights take 3-2 series lead with 5-3 win over Sharks

By Jesse Granger

Published Friday, May 4, 2018 | 4 p.m.

Updated Friday, May 4, 2018 | 9:46 p.m.

The Golden Knights are one win away from the Western Conference Finals.

Alex Tuch scored two goals and the Golden Knights withstood a late Sharks’ comeback attempt to win 5-3 and claim a 3-2 series lead Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.

James Neal opened the scoring with only three seconds left in the first period, slotting a rebound into a wide-open net to give Vegas an early 2-0 lead.

Alex Tuch scored a power play goal on a rebound attempt in the second period, then tipped the puck past San Jose goalie Martin Jones for his second goal of the game and fourth of the playoffs.

San Jose scored three goals in the third period but fell just short of completing the comeback.

Kevin Labanc ended Marc-Andre Fleury’s shutout bid with a power play goal early in the third period, then Tomas Hertl and Mikkel Boedker added late goals to pull San Jose within one.

Jonathan Marchessault scored an empty net goal from 150 feet away to make it 5-3 and seal Vegas' win.

Fleury stopped 27 shots to earn his seventh win of the playoffs.

The Golden Knights will have an opportunity to end the series Sunday evening in San Jose. The puck drops for game six at 4:30 p.m. at SAP Center.

Golden Knights lead 3-0 after two periods

The Golden Knights have thoroughly dominated the San Jose Sharks and lead 3-0 through two periods of game five, Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.

In a storm of swinging hockey sticks Alex Tuch’s made contact with the puck. It bounced underneath Sharks’ goalie Martin Jones and across the goal line to put the Golden Knights up 2-0 early in the second period of game five at T-Mobile Arena.

The goal came on a power play after Tomas Hertl was called for interference. Jonathan Marchessault fed Reilly Smith for a one-timer from the slot, which was stopped by Jones. Tuch cleaned up the rebound to make it 2-0 Vegas.

Minutes later Erik Haula optimistically fired the put at the net from a sharp angle, and it somehow squeaked past Jones to extend the lead to 3-0.

Late in the period the Sharks created multiple scuffles with hits after the whistle. Timo Meier took Colin Miller down in Marc-Andre Fleury’s crease after a freeze, and Brent Burns cross checked Ryan Carpenter well after the whistle, knocking him to the ice.

Later Eric Fehr punched Miller in the back of the helmet away from the play, followed by a forceful cross check to the back. It’s clear the Sharks are frustrated as they are 20 minutes away from falling behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Golden Knights lead 1-0 after one period

Shea Theodore fired a puck towards the net with only seconds remaining in a scoreless first period, and it ricocheted off a players skate before reaching the goalie.

The rebound bounced right to James Neal, who slotted it into the wide-open net to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead over the Sharks with only three seconds left in the frame.

Vegas controlled play for most of the period Friday night at T-Mobile Arena, outshooting San Jose 15-7.

Martin Jones, who shut the Golden Knights out in the game four on Wednesday, stopped the first 14 shots of the game but Vegas finally broke through.

Marc-Andre Fleury had only one difficult save to make in the period, and it was his own fault. Fleury ventured behind his own net to retrieve a puck, and immediately turned it over. The Sharks passed it in front of the net and fired it, but Fleury was just able to scramble and make a spectacular glove save.

Pre game

The Golden Knights host San Jose tonight at T-Mobile Arena in the second-round series tied 2-2.

Vegas has consistently been one of the best offensive teams in the NHL this season, and has done it by scoring in transition and carrying the puck into the offensive zone with skilled passes in the middle of the ice.

The Sharks have largely taken it away by packing the neutral zone with as many players as possible.

“They’ve done a good job,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “We just have to make better execution with our passes.”

Vegas may also use alternative methods of gaining the offensive zone like dumping the puck into the corners and chasing it down.

“If it needs to be dumped in that’s fine but we need to get (the puck) back with our speed,” forward Cody Eakin said. “You’re not always going to be able to carry it in. We have to get the forecheck going and try to get the puck back and make it hard on their defense.”

Too many times this series the Golden Knights have dumped a puck into the zone without purpose, relinquishing possession right back to the Sharks.

“You have to think in advance,” Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. “Before you get to the red line you have to know where your linemates are so you can make a dump that is easy to recover. That’s something that we’ve been missing.”

Vegas’ dominant forecheck that helped them finish second in the NHL in takeaways was missing in San Jose. The Golden Knights forced only nine total takeaways in the last two games and will need to drastically improve in that aspect to win tonight.

“I don’t mind dumping pucks in, but when you do it you better be fast to go get them. That’s the key,” Gallant said. “I thought our forecheck was late last game. If you give teams time to execute their plays then they will.”

Tonight’s game holds massive implications. When a series is tied 2-2 the winner of game five goes on to win the series 80 percent of the time.

“We got ourselves a good series so we have to bring our A-game and see what happens,” Eakin said. “It’s always nice to be at home. We earned that so it’s going to be fun to play in front of our home fans and give them something to cheer about.”

Prediction: Golden Knights 3, Sharks 1

Playoffs record for predictions: 6-2

Season record for predictions: 38-26

Puck drops: 7:00 p.m.

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 1038, Dish Network 159)

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-155, Total 5.5 minus-120 to the under

Golden Knights playoff record (6-2) (3-1 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant

Playoffs goal leader: William Karlsson (4)

Playoffs assist leader: Reilly Smith (8)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (6-2, 1.53 goals against average)

San Jose Sharks playoff record (6-2) (3-1 away)

Coach: Peter DeBoer

Playoffs goal leader: Tomas Hertl (5)

Playoffs assist leader: Joe Pavelski (6)

Expected goalie: Martin Jones (6-2, 2.01 goals against average)

Golden Knights expected game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Carpenter, William Carrier, Cody Eakin, William Karlsson, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, David Perron, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch.

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Luca Sbisa, 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_.