In case the start to the first round hasn’t been wild enough for you, the late game on Friday night was something you needed to see to believe, as the Sharks and Avalanche traded goals all the way into overtime. Colorado pushed San Jose to the brink in this one, as the Sharks were just 32 seconds away from going down 2-0 in this series before Joe Pavelski scored to force overtime with Evgeni Nabokov watching from the bench. Devin Setoguchi tipped in Ryane Clowe’s shot through traffic just past the 5 minute mark into overtime to tie the series and give the Sharks a much better shot at doing what they’re supposed to do and win this series.
The Avalanche have played this whole season like they’re not scared of anyone, and that attitude has shown itself very strongly over the first two games. Kyle Cumiskey beat Nabokov just over a minute into the game to put the Avs up 1-0, and you got the feeling right away this one was going to be more of a barnburner than the low-scoring affair we saw in Game 1. Manny Malhotra got things even late in the period with a second effort shot on the powerplay that he buried upstairs with Craig Anderson down.
The 2nd period was loaded with action, as both teams scored 3 goals apiece. Chris Stewart, the Avalanche leader in goals this season, got things started just 24 seconds into the period, picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone and flying into the Sharks’ zone to beat Nabokov with a high wrister. Former Colorado defenseman Rob Blake tied the game at 2-2 with a blast from the tops of the circles that beat Anderson, but the Avs would retake the leade just 25 seconds later on Mil Hejduk’s snipe from the slot. Devin Setoguchi crashed a scrum in front of the net off a faceoff in the Colorado zone and bounced the puck up and over Anderson’s pad to tie the game at 3-3. Brandon Yip scored with under 3 minutes to play in the period, disrupting a Sharks’ breakout and slapping the puck past Nabokov, but with just 15 seconds left in the 2nd, Scott Nichol scored a great hustle goal, poking in a rebound before Anderson could cover it.
To say the 3rd period was stressful for the Sharks would be a major understatement. Stewart scored his 2nd goal of the night and 3rd of the playoffs early in the period, whipping a wicked wrister off the far post to beat Nabokov, and it looked as if that lead would stand for most of the period. In the final minute, after some great hockey at both ends and Nabokov pulled, Joe Thornton showed great patience with the puck and found Dany Heatley open in the slot. Heatley’s shot was blocked by a leaping Pavelski, who managed to corral his rebound and flip it into a gaping net since Anderson was out of position after playing the original shot. Setoguchi’s winner in overtime sent a raucous Shark Tank crowd over the edge and gave the Sharks life in this series.
Scoring the game winner was an extra bonus for Setoguchi, who was robbed of what would have been the game tying goal late in the 3rd after his goal was called back and he was sent to the penalty box on a very weak goalie interference call. Craig Anderson was stellar in net, despite giving up 6 goals. He finished the game with 46 saves on 52 San Jose shots, while Nabokov continued to show reason for concern, giving up 5 goals on just 22 shots.