Sharks win to stay alive
San Jose beat Dallas in overtime to stay in the playoffs.
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| Hunt as a pack: The San Jose Sharks celebrate [GALLO/GETTY] |
The San Jose Sharks got an overtime winner to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2, a victory to keep them alive in the NHL playoff series.
Joe Pavelski scored 65 seconds into overtime as the Sharks closed the series deficit to 3-2.
Brian Campbell scored the tying goal midway through the third period for the Sharks, who will travel to Dallas for Game 6.
San Jose is just the fourth team in the past 20 seasons to stretch a series even to six games after trailing 0-3.
Only two in NHL history have managed to win the series from there, the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942 and the New York Islanders in 1975.
Jere Lehtinen and captain Brenden Morrow scored second-period goals for the Stars, who controlled play and seemed headed for an easy evening at the Shark Tank, where they had dominated the home team over the last two years.
Morrow also had two apparent goals disallowed, one for kicking the puck into the net and another for batting it with his hand.
The second-seeded Sharks, whose inconsistent brilliance has defined their season, appeared listless before Milan Michalek and Campbell scored in the third period to tie the game.
Pavelski ended it before some fans had even settled in their seats for overtime, dangling in the slot and beating Stars’ goaltender Marty Turco for an unassisted goal.