Golden Knights at Sharks
The Vegas Golden Knights frittered away a two-goal lead for the second time in as many games and were staring at the possibility of trailing in a playoff series for the first time. William Karlsson would not let it happen, delivering the decisive tally in overtime to give Vegas a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series entering Wednesday's Game 4 at the San Jose Sharks.
The Golden Knights lost home-ice advantage in Game 2 after suffering a 4-3 loss in double overtime but Karlsson, a 43-goal scorer during the regular season, prevented a repeat with a laser to the far top corner afer San Jose scored twice in the third to tie it. "I think it's good for the morale," Karlsson said. "We showed great attitude. Again, they came back. It was tough, too, but we gave someone a chance to be an overtime hero." The Sharks were satisfied with everything but the result, pouring 89 shots on goal in the past two games after they were sandblasted 7-0 in the series opener. "We're getting better every game in the series, so that's a good thing," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're realizing what works against them, and in this series there's a lot of hockey left to be played."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Marc-Andre Fleury rescued Vegas in overtime with a spectacular glove save, reaching out to snatch Logan Couture's point-blank blast from the slot to set the stage for Karlsson's heroics. Karlsson's winning goal capped another superb performance from the Golden Knights' top line as he combined with Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith for seven points in the game and 19 so far through the first three games of the series. Karlsson, who has one goal and one assist in the first-round sweep of Los Angeles, has torched the Sharks for seven goals and five assists in seven meetings this season.
ABOUT THE SHARKS: Is the time right for the return of veteran center Joe Thornton, who has been practicing with the team but has not played since Jan. 23 while recovering from surgery on his medial collateral ligament? Joonas Donskoi (lower body) is questionable for Wednesday after sitting out Game 3, which forced DeBoer to elevate Chris Tierney to the No. 1 line in place of Donskoi and insert Barclay Goodrow at center on the third line, with the latter move not proving to be fruitful. DeBoer has typically ruled Thornton out one day prior to each game but declined to do so Tuesday, listing the 38-year-old as day-to-day.
OVERTIME
1. Smith has one goal and eight assists during a six-game point streak.
2. Sharks F Evander Kane, who missed Game 2 due to suspension, has four goals in six playoff contests.
3. Golden Knights F James Neal has six points in the postseason, including a pair of two-point games in this series.