Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi delivered the fast start San Jose coach Peter DeBoer wanted and Martin Jones did the rest to help the
Sharks tie their playoff series with Vegas at two games apiece.
Sorensen and Donskoi scored in the first period and Jones made 34 saves for his sixth career postseason shutout as the Sharks bounced back from an overtime
loss to beat the Golden Knights 4-0 in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
”We’d been chasing the game the whole series
Lawrence Taylor Jersey ,” DeBoer said. ”We talked about it, but it’s easier said than done. I think we’ve had chances in the last two games to get out in
front, but (Marc-Andre) Fleury has I think been exceptional, especially early in
games, in order to keep us off the board. It’s nice that we’ve stuck with it,
and hopefully we see some cracks.”
Tomas Hertl added his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs and Joe Pavelski scored a power-play goal in the third to set up a best-of-three for a
spot in the Western Conference Final.
Game 5 is Friday night in Las Vegas.
Fleury made 30 saves and Vegas failed to convert on all five power-play chances while losing for the second time in eight games this postseason.
”They were a little more competitive than we were tonight,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. ”We didn’t play a bad game, but we didn’t play well
enough to win and they did, and they really did. I think we played well enough
to win all of the first three
Justin Coleman Jersey , but tonight? No.”
Jones was a big reason for that, starting with a key save early against Reilly Smith. Jones was helped on a delayed penalty when Brent Burns cleared a
puck off the goal line and when James Neal hit the post on a power play in the
first period.
But the San Jose goalie also delivered some big-time saves, including back-to-back stops against William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault on a Vegas
power play in the final minute of the second. Jones then turned aside Smith on a
power play in the third.
Jones tied Evgeni Nabokov’s team record for most saves in a playoff shutout, and the Sharks have turned things around following a 7-0 loss in the opener.
”I thought we probably managed the puck a little bit better for the whole game,” Jones said. ”We won battles on the boards, we got pucks out when we
needed to and we got pucks in when we needed to. That was big for us
tonight.”
Hertl helped give Jones a cushion with his goal early in the second. Logan Couture won an offensive zone faceoff against Erik Haula, and Mikkel Boedker
took the puck behind the net for a wraparound attempt. Hertl was in front and
knocked in the loose puck to make it 3-0.
Pavelski’s goal on the rebound of Couture’s shot sealed the game midway through the third.
The Sharks made some changes from Game 3, with defenseman Joakim Ryan returning to the lineup for the first time since March 16 in place of Paul
Martin, and Donskoi getting back in after missing the previous game with a
lower-body injury.
After an early giveaway led to a scoring chance for Vegas
Vonn Bell Jersey , Ryan fared well and stripped William Carrier of the puck to thwart a chance for the Golden Knights.
San Jose then scored twice in the final five minutes of the first period. Sorensen struck first, using a pick from linemate Eric Fehr to get loose from
the corner and then skate around two defenseman to beat Fleury with his fourth
goal of the playoffs.
The Sharks added to the lead with 5.1 seconds to go when Donskoi skated from his own zone and beat Fleury with a wrist shot from the high slot.
”At the start of the game they actually had some better looks than we did. I think they came out hard and better than we did and then Marcus scored and
Joonas’ goal was big as well,” Couture said. ”The 2-0 goal was a massive goal
heading into the first intermission.”
Vegas was never able to recover from that early deficit.
”We got caught a little bit sleeping in the first period and they took advantage,” Marchessault said.
NOTES: Nabokov made 34 saves in playoff shutouts against Calgary in 2004 and Detroit in 2007. … Vegas had outscored the opposition 7-1 in the first period
through its first seven games this postseason. … Sorensen has five goals in 14
playoff games compared to six in 51 regular-season games.
—
More NHL hockey: Lawyers representing former NFL players estimated Wednesday that payouts from the concussion settlement with the league will top $1.4
billion, a $400 million jump because of thousands more players filing
claims.
The number of players who filed to be a part of the settlement is outpacing all previous estimates and could keep growing, the lawyers said in a federal
court filing based on estimates from an actuary. The estimate accounts for
players who have filed claims and those who have officially given notice that
they intend to file claims.
The actuary said participation rates are 21 percent higher than estimated when the settlement was reached. As of July 16, 499 claims totaling more than
$485 million had been approved, according to the filing.
The massive increase in estimated payout came the same day a judge denied a request from the league to appoint a special investigator to look into what the
league said are extensive fraudulent claims against the settlement fund.
Judge Anita Brody wrote in her federal court ruling that the league's attorneys had demonstrated that there is "sufficient evidence of probable fraud
to warrant serious concern." But Brody said a special master and a claims
administrator have effectively ferreted out those claims for now.
"The audit process is working effectively," Brody wrote in her deferral ruling
Vernon Hargreaves III Jersey , saying if the claims administrator or special master notify the court an investigator is needed, "the Court will rule
on the motion at that time."
The league requested an investigator and cited in its May argument an independent study it said found more than 400 claims recommended for denial
based on evidence of fraud by attorneys, doctors and former players attempting
to cheat the program. The league has said those attempts to scam the $1 billion
settlement fund have slowed down the awarding of valid claims.
The settlement, which took effect January 2017, resolved thousands of lawsuits that accused the NFL of hiding what it knew about the risks of repeated
concussions.
It covers retired players who develop Lou Gehrig's disease, dementia or other neurological problems believed to be caused by concussions suffered during their
pro careers, with awards as high as $5 million for the most serious cases.
Attorneys for the league had cited practices such as doctors seeing players for evaluation not in clinical settings, but in hotel rooms, law offices or
other places. They also cited a doctor who said she spent seven to 12 hours
evaluating each patient
B.J. Hill Jersey , but approved sometimes as many as eight patients a day.
A lawyer for several plaintiffs said Wednesday that he and others representing the players supported Brody's decision.
"Since the NFL filed its motion more than three months ago, the claims process has continued to accelerate and the current audit process is working
effectively," said Chris Seeger, co-lead counsel for the retired players. "We
will not allow a small number of potentially fraudulent claims to be used as an
excuse by the NFL to deny payment to legitimately injured former players."
In their May arguments, Seeger and other attorneys noted that the instances of fraudulent claims would be cut dramatically after the most recent rules for
claims went into effect, including a list of approved physicians to determine
eligibility.
Brody warned in her ruling that she expects the process to ensure valid claims are promptly paid.
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