Sports media giant ESPN came up with a list of the top-10 weirdest playoff goals in NHL history, and the San Jose Sharks are involved in three of them.
Coming in at No. 8 is former All-Star defenseman Dan Boyle’s gaff in Game 3 of the Sharks first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche in 2010.
The teams split the first two games in San Jose, giving the Avalanche home-ice advantage. Colorado goaltender Craig Anderdson was sensational in regulation, stopping all 42 shots he faced over the final two periods, as the game went into overtime tied 0-0.
Then, just 51 seconds in, disaster struck for San Jose:
It looked like a harmless play for Boyle, but his misfire when past goalie Evgeni Nabokov. The goal was credited to Colorado’s Ryan O’Reilly, saving Anderson’s 51 save performance, and giving the Avalanche a 2-1 series advantage.
Boyle gets a pass for this mistake, since the Sharks won the final three games of the series to defeat Colorado 4-2 to move on to the next round.
The next time San Jose appears on the list is at No. 4. The Sharks and St. Louis Blues were tied up at 1-1 going into Game 3 of the 2019 Western Conference Finals. It was a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final minutes when Logan Couture was able to tie game with 4-4 with 1:01 left in the third period.
In overtime, defenseman Erik Karlsson scored this controversial goal:
The Blues were fuming because they felt there should have been a stoppage in play due to Timo Meier’s hand pass that led to the winning goal. The NHL implemented a new video replay rule for the 2019-20 season due to Karlsson’s winner.
San Jose took a 2-1 series lead, but lost the final three games to the Blues, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
And the final time the Sharks appear on the list is at No. 2, and it certainly is one of the weirdest goals I have ever seen in my life.
San Jose trailed the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 going into Game 5 of the 2011 Western Conference Final. Penalty killing cost the Sharks in Game 4 at home, before the series shifted back to Vancouver.
It looked like San Jose was going to force a Game 6, but Canucks’ center Ryan Kesler tied the things up with just 14 seconds left in the third, forcing overtime.
Then, just over 11 minutes into the second overtime period, the Sharks season ended:
The puck caromed off of the stanchion and came right to Bieksa, who beat surprised goaltender Anti Niemi, and sent Vancouver to the Stanley Cup Final.
What are some of your most memorable goals in Sharks’ playoff history?
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