Couture’s OT goal gives Sharks 2-1 win over Kings
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Logan Couture scored a power-play goal 1:29 into overtime to help the San Jose Sharks bounce back from two losses in Los Angeles to beat the Kings 2-1 in Game 3 of their second-round series on Saturday night.
Dan Boyle scored a power-play goal early in the first period and Antti Niemi made 26 saves for the Sharks, who got the penalty calls to go in their favor down the stretch in this game.
Rookie Tyler Toffoli scored the lone goal for the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings, who had won six straight games since dropping the first two in the opening round in St. Louis. Jonathan Quick made 38 saves.
Game 4 is Tuesday night in San Jose.
Two nights after losing 4-3 on a pair of late power-play goals by Los Angeles in Game 2, the Sharks took advantage of their late-game chances on the power play. Tommy Wingels drew a hooking penalty on Robyn Regehr with 41.7 seconds left in regulation, and the task got even more difficult for Los Angeles when Trevor Lewis was called for goaltender interference when he crashed into Niemi with 4.5 seconds remaining.
That gave San Jose a 5-on-3 advantage for the first 1:19 of overtime. The Sharks couldn’t convert with two extra men, but got the winner after Regehr came back when Patrick Marleau set up Couture in front.
Couture’s first career playoff overtime goal came after he missed most of the second period with an injury when he crashed into the boards. He returned in the final minute of the second and then got the Sharks back into the series.
The Sharks survived a scoreless second period in which they played with a short bench for much of it. Marty Havlat, back for the first time since being knocked out of Game 1 in the first round because of a lower-body injury, left after the first period and didn’t return.
Defenseman Scott Hannan missed time early in the period after sliding face first into the boards, and Couture was also out.
Despite having just 10 forwards for most of the period, the Sharks got the better chances with only a sterling pad save by Quick against Andrew Desjardins keeping the game tied at 1 heading into the third.
The sold-out crowd was in a frenzy from the start, hoping to help the Sharks rebound from the late-game collapse in Game 2 in Los Angeles that put them in the 0-2 hole. A disputed delay of game penalty on San Jose led to two late goals that gave the Kings a 4-3 win on Thursday night.
This time, the Sharks were on the positive end of a puck being played into the seats, getting a power play 90 seconds into the game when Jake Muzzin’s clearing attempt went over the glass. It took just 4 seconds for San Jose to get its first power-play goal of the series as Joe Pavelski won the faceoff against Anze Kopitar back to Marleau, who fed Boyle for the blast from inside the blue line.
The Kings withstood that early storm, getting the equalizer shortly after killing a second power play midway through the period. Brad Stuart turned the puck over, trying to come out of the defensive zone, right to Toffoli, who skated in and beat Niemi with a backhand to make it 1-1.
NOTES: The Kings made a couple of lineup switches with F Tanner Pearson playing in place of Jordan Nolan, and Keaton Ellerby replacing Alec Martinez, who was on the ice for all three San Jose goals in Game 2. Pearson is the third Kings player ever to make his NHL debut in the postseason. ... The Sharks were fined $100,000 before the game for general manager Doug Wilson’s comments Friday criticizing the suspension of F Raffi Torres for the rest of the series for his Game 1 hit that knocked out Jarret Stoll.