Called off Knights’ goal ‘pretty clear’ interference to Sharks
San Jose goalie Martin Jones looked up at the big screen to watch the replay as the Golden Knights celebrated around him even though he already knew what would happen.
Jones was certain the Knights would be called for goaltender interference on what appeared the game-winner by Jonathan Marchessault late in the first overtime of Saturday night’s Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinal series at T-Mobile Arena.
“He clipped me on my blocker side and kind of spun me around,” Jones said after the Sharks won 4-3 in double overtime.
“I was pretty sure. You never know how they’re going to go, but I had a pretty good idea that was going to be the call.
“It looked pretty clear to me.”
Sharks coach Peter DeBoer agreed.
“I thought that was an easy one,” he said after his team evened the series at one game apiece.
It was a far different affair from Game 1, when the Golden Knights cruised to a 7-0 victory.
“I thought we were better everywhere tonight,” DeBoer said. “Our guys responded. We were down by two early, but our game was good. As long as our game was good, even if we had lost tonight, we’ve always taken the approach that good things happen when we play our game. I really liked how we were playing.
“I can’t speak for Vegas. I can just worry about us. Our game was better and we got the result we deserved.”
The Sharks were facing a 2-0 series deficit after they fell behind 2-0 early in the second period.
They responded with three unanswered goals to breathe new life into their hopes of advancing.
San Jose is 9-6 all-time when it has been tied 1-1 in a series, but has never come back from a 2-0 deficit in 11 previous tries.
“The things we had to fix, we fixed,” said defenseman Brent Burns, who scored two goals in the second period. “It was just a better team game.
“It’s just one game. Obviously, we had to win it. It was important, but it is just one.”
Now the Sharks return home with momentum. They may also have a confident goalie once again, though Jones insists he wasn’t deterred after allowing five goals and getting pulled early in the series opener.
“We try and prepare for every game the same way,” he said. “Obviously, we wanted to learn from what happened from Game 1, but the preparation didn’t change.”
The Sharks finally put a puck past his counterpart, which could aid their confidence on the offensive end.
“(Fleury) has been a hot goalie,” Joe Pavelski said. “I thought we got better chances. Once we were finally able to get to him, I think it gave us some confidence.”
“For us to get a little momentum going was really important and overall our compete level was better. We did the little things better.”
Now they get the next two games on home ice at the so-called Shark Tank after handing the Knights their first playoff loss.
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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.