The St. Louis Blues hosted the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in the first game of the two teams' first-round playoff series. The Sharks needed two overtimes, but pulled off the 3-2 win to go up 1-0 in the series and take the first step on the road to a massive upset.
The game was scoreless for over 25 minutes after the puck dropped. San Jose drew first blood, scoring at 6:02 in the second period on a Martin Havlat power play goal and carried the 1-0 lead into the second intermission. Their lead was short-lived, however, as Patrik Berglund tied the game up within the opening minute of the third period. Some stupid calls went against the Sharks and Berglund was able to get a power play goal past Antti Niemi at 7:28 of the period.
It appeared as though the Sharks were headed for the somewhat-inevitable 0-1 hole to start the series when Andrew Desjardins scored to tie it up 2-2, with assists by Tommy Wingels and Dan Boyle. You can see the crucial goal below.
San Jose was able to hang on long enough to send the game to overtime. The overtime period seemed like all Blues for the duration. St. Louis was constantly attacking the net and taking a multitude of shots, with desperation saves by Niemi. The few times the Sharks were able to go on the offensive, it seemed as though the puck was instantly back on the San Jose side of the blue lines. The Sharks had an amazing opportunity in the final minute, as the puck went behind Jaroslav Halak and he had no idea where it was. He completely turned his back to the open ice, but the Blues were able to get to the puck first and clear it. After 20 minutes, the game remained 2-2 and headed to a second overtime.
The second overtime began with a flurry of action when suddenly, inexplicably, Havlat sent a long shot past a blues defender and past Halak right into the back of the net at 3:34 for his second goal of the game to seal the win. Check out the amazing winning goal below.
For all news and information regarding the San Jose Sharks, please visit Fear the Fin. For updates and perspective on the St. Louis Blues, head on over to St. Louis Game Time. For complete coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated NHL hub.
