The Predators scored four unanswered goals to win Game 3 4-1 Tuesday night, cutting the Sharks’ series lead to 2-1.
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Fisher pounced on a shot by Mattias Ekholm for his second goal of the almost five-hour game as Nashville withstood a fierce San Jose attack during the overtime periods.
But that game was quick compared to the epic penned by the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in their Game 4. Nashville would go on to score in the third overtime period. “Therefore the original call stands – no goal San Jose Sharks ” Calling that incidental contact is a bit of a tough sell, unless they thought Pavelski had enough time to avoid contact with Weber, which – again – seems unlikely.
Also, Bleacher Report published Predators goalie Pekka Rinne had 44 saves in the last game, better than Sharks goalie Martin Jones’ 41 saves.
The bad luck was not restricted to just Jones’ net however, when the Sharks also scored on their first shot on goal, three minutes into the game. The Predators won 4-3 in triple overtime to even the series 2-2. The Sharks have not lost back-to-back games since December 18 at Ottawa and December 20 at Chicago, and coach Peter DeBoer isn’t anxious about a new trend starting Thursday night in Game 4 after a 4-1 loss Tuesday night. He twice robbed Tomas Hertl on point-blank looks in the slot and then came up with a pair of key saves during a late power play. It is Fisher’s second goal and his first overtime goal in 12 years. Nashville coach Peter Laviolette asked for a replay review.
Nashville had a scare in the first overtime period when Sharks captain Joe Pavelski crashed the net, taking out Rinne and tipping in a loose puck.
It truly was one of the best games I’ve seen in a very long time.
The officials judged that Pavelski had pinned down Rinne before the puck crossed the line.
Most of Nashville’s fans stuck around for the finish and had just given the Predators a standing ovation a couple minutes before Fisher’s game-winning goal gave them a reason to celebrate.
On the deciding goal, Fisher corralled a Mattias Ekhom rebound in front of the crease and curled it over the line at 11:12. “You know it was all him tonight”. The Stars won Game 4 in overtime on Thursday, 3-2.
With St. Louis on a 4-on-3 power-play, Stastny redirected a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko at 13:06 of the second period.
“We went out and did our job, every single man to a T went out there with the mindset of playing their game”, said Johansen. With the first element of the play confirmed through video review, it was time to move on to the question of potential goalie interference.
Nashville killed off the penalty, setting up the third extra period.
Polak’s injury came with the Sharks killing a penalty to defenseman Brent Burns. Wilson passed now-Sharks forward Joel Ward (nine) for second-most playoff goals in franchise history with his 10th.
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After that impressive run, the second game was much closer, with the goal in the second period making the difference in the game. Nashville’s scratches were D Petter Granberg, C Cody Bass, C Mike Ribeiro, LW Eric Nystrom, LW Austin Watson, G Marek Mazanec and RW Gabriel Bourque.
