Sharks: Containing Golden Knights’ top line crucial
The Sharks have to contain Vegas’ first line in hopes of winning Wednesday’s Game 4 to again even their secondround playoff series.
The Golden Knights’ top group of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith have combined for 19 points and 31 shots on goal in the first three games of the best-of-seven Western Conference series.
Karlsson’s third goal of the series — at 8:17 of overtime Monday — decided Game 3 and gave the expansion team a 2-1 series lead.
That the three are a handful shouldn’t be a surprise — the line combined for 92 goals and 213 points in the regular season.
“Their key guys don’t need many looks to stick the puck in the net,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “You’re seeing that.”
And the Sharks are aiding their efforts more than they want. San Jose’s recent penchant for taking penalties has resulted in the Golden Knights earning 18 power plays, though 10 of those came in Game 1. During no three-game stretch during the regular season did the Sharks play short-handed more than 14 times.
Vegas’ terrific trio has made them pay with a combined six goals — or 43 percent of the Knights’ production in the series.
“They’re quality players, but we’ve got a game plan and I don’t think we’ve completely executed it yet,” Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “We’re doing it in bits and pieces. We see the success we get when we’re doing it well.”
The quick pace the Golden Knights favor is forcing the Sharks to make decisions and play faster than they want at times. That’s resulted in an uptick in penalties, not to mention a problem with turnovers.
While cutting down on giveaways, the Sharks improved in another area. They were guilty of only two stick-related infractions in the past two games after taking five during a 7-0 loss in Game 1. But three delay-of-game penalties and a too-many-men gaffe in the past two games are a result of feeling rushed.
“Stay out of the box. The power play gives them energy,” Sharks forward Logan Couture said. “They feel good about their game when
they’re making plays.”
San Jose is adjusting to Vegas’ speed with fewer stretch passes through the neutral zone, instead making shorter feeds or tossing riskier and longer passes up the boards. It has made a difference in the one-goal games, Saturday and Monday.
“We’re getting better every game in the series, so that’s a good thing,” DeBoer said. “We’re realizing what works against them, and in this series there’s a lot of hockey left to be played.”
DeBoer would like to see his team play more with the lead. Timo Meier’s power-play strike 6:59 into the second period on Monday broke a scoreless tie. But San Jose surrendered its only lead of Game 3 just 2:41 later when Vegas scored the first of three goals in a span of 4:29.
“Through the three games, we’re chasing the game every night,” said DeBoer, whose team has been tied or behind for 191:28 of the 213:30 played in the series. “And we’ve got to find a way to get out in front.”
The runway isn’t very long in a playoff series. Historically, the Sharks have advanced only three of 14 times after trailing 2-1 — most recently in 2010 in a first-round matchup against Colorado.
“It doesn’t matter how you got there and what the score was in any of the games,” Couture said. “We’re down 2-1 and we’ve got a big game on Wednesday.”