Sharks Win Game 7 With Improbable Comeback
Apr 24, 2019, 6:20 AM | Updated: 8:38 am
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
It couldn’t have ended any other way. The San Jose Sharks and Las Vegas Golden Knights have been locked in an epic battle for the last couple weeks, putting on what many believe to be on of the best opening round series in Stanley Cup Playoff history. And that was before game seven on Tuesday night.
After winning in double overtime, battling back from a 3-1 series deficit, the Sharks hosted the ultimate deciding game inside the SAP Center. Up to that point, the team to score the first goal in each game of the series had ended up winning, and there had yet to be a lead changes in the six games.
Down by three goals halfway through the final period, as the Sharks’ season looked all but over, a controversial major penalty call against Las Vegas would begin one of the most incredible sequences in sports history.
Sharks captain Joe Pavelski would take a hard fall on the side of his head, causing him to bleed on the ice and exit the game. The fall came after a cross check, which would result in a five minute major penalty called against the Knights.
And then, this happened:
San Jose came roaring back with four goals in five minutes, a stretch of play already being considered the greatest in the Sharks’ and NHL’s history.
But it wasn’t over yet. With less than a minute remaining, the Golden Knights would press the attack, keeping their Stanley Cup hopes alive with this goal to force overtime.
The magical comeback story was not to be denied. Both teams had their handful of chances in the sudden-death overtime, but it was the Sharks that would put the cherry on top of one of the greatest Stanley Cup Playoff series ever.
San Jose moves onto the next round, where they will meet the Colorado Avalanche.
Good luck following up that instant classic.
