The first period bore a distressing resemblance to the last Phoenix game. It wasn’t so much that Los Tiburones were mailing it in as the Twinkles were playing with a bee in their bonnet. Or burr up their… you get the idea. Dallas was hellbent for leather to avoid losing five straight, and they were throwing everything they had at the Sharks who weren’t quite as inclined to play with an attitude. San Jose was fortunate to come out down only 1-0.
During the second period, you could see the Sharks were saying “if that’s how you want it, that’s how you’ll get it” as they started playing the Stars even. There was also San Jose’s own motivation to consider: put an even greater stranglehold on the Pacific Division title, lock up the second seed in the playoffs, and finally not get swept at home by Dallas. Still, on the scorecard nothing more than swapping goals was noted. On to the third.
Remember when the omnipresent impression about Joe Thornton was he thinks pass first through fourth, with taking the shot himself an option apparently underneath a sign reading “in case of fire break glass?” Fast forward to today. Isn’t it beautiful to see him be — at least once in a while — selfish? His blast in the third tied it up. And then things got electric.
Insane saves by both goaltenders. Even more insane defensive plays snatching pucks away at the last millisecond from crossing the goal line. An overtime which if nothing else answers the question about what happens if a team commits a penalty when they’re already down a player. Wild. Wacky. Beautiful. If games like this don’t get your blood pumping, you’re the one on whom Dracula took a pass.
The division title is now in full view. And the view for the playoffs is looking mighty good.
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