SAN JOSE – Logan Couture spent much of the second period out of action because of an injury as the San Jose Sharks took on the Los Angeles Kings in the third game of the Western Conference Semifinals at HP Pavilion.
Couture returned to the ice for the final shift of the second period, then ended the suspense 1:29 into overtime as the Sharks turned back the defending Stanley Cup Champions 2-1.
The win left the Sharks down 2-1 in the best 4-of-7 series with Game Four Tuesday at 7pm on the Sharks’ ice. The fifth game will be played Thursday at 7:30pm in Los Angeles.
San Jose improved to 3-0 at home and 3-0 in overtime for the postseason.
Los Angeles was whistled for two minor penalties in the final minute of regulation, giving the Sharks a 5-on-3 opportunity for the first 1:19 of overtime. Los Angeles killed off the 5-on-3, but Couture drilled the game-winner 10 seconds into the 5-on-4 off a feed from Patrick Marleau.
The Sharks immediately took advantage of a power play chance in the first period to secure a 1-0 lead.
Jake Muzzin, a rookie defenseman for the Kings, was sent to the box at the 1:30 mark for delaying the game by sending the puck over the glass. By 1:34, San Jose had the 1-0 advantage. Anze Kopitar was 5-for-6 on face-offs for the Kings in the first period, but his one loss allowed Joe Pavelski to pull the puck back to Marleau. Dan Boyle one-timed a short feed from Marleau, the puck dipping inside the left post past a screened goaltender Jonathan Quick. Boyle has 13 goals in 96 postseason games.
The final goal of regulation came 10:08 into the first period. Tyler Toffoli, a 21-year-old centerman in his fifth postseason game, evened the score when he pounced on an errant pass from Shark Brad Stuart and backhanded a shot from the slot past goaltender Antti Niemi.
San Jose finished with a 40-27 edge in shots on net. Marleau posted a team-high seven shots on net. Pavelski recorded a team-high 23:41 of ice time.
The game-winner came after King Robyn Regehr had exited the penalty box, leaving Trevor Lewis to sit for goaltender interference that happened in the final five seconds of the third period.
The Kings were able to clear the zone once against the 5-on-3 pressure of the Sharks. The second trip into the Los Angeles zone resulted in Couture’s goal. Joe Thornton, on the ice for the full 1:29 of the overtime, had time with the puck along the right boards. The captain drilled the puck to Marleau at the right post. When Slava Voynov moved to cover Marleau, Marleau reacted with a quick pass to Couture in the low slot for the one-timer past Quick.
“Couture’s a good player,” said King defenseman Rob Scuderi. “You give him that kind of time, that kind of space, he’s most likely going to make you pay and he did.”
Kings’ Dustin Penner added that “they’re two pretty evenly matched teams. This one stings but we’ll regroup and recover in time for Game Four.”
