Goals haven’t been easy to come by for the San Jose Sharks, so seeing a would-be Joe Thornton to Kevin Labanc beauty nullified by a high-sticking penalty really hurt. Their fans certainly haven’t been happy about it, either.
Some were especially annoyed that Tim Peel seemed to make the call of high-sticking by Timo Meier on Mikko Rantanen, rather than an official closer to the scene of the crime. There was also some confusion regarding what seemed to be a review period, but the officials might have just been checking to make sure the time was right.
To add some salt in the Sharks’ wounds, the goal wasn’t just nullified; they also had to kill a penalty. San Jose did so, as the first period ended 0-0. In also-bad news for the Sharks, Meier seemed to possibly be injured late in the opening frame.
Philipp Grubauer shut out the Sharks in Game 4, so San Jose hasn’t scored a goal since Logan Couture scored an empty-netter with 30 seconds remaining in Game 3. San Jose also hasn’t beaten Grubauer specifically since Couture scored his second of three goals in Game 3 12:50 into the third period of that contest. So, yeah, it’s been a while.
Can the Sharks finally solve Grubauer going forward, and find a way to take a 3-2 series lead? Will Colorado stay hot and snag that 3-2 edge instead? Tune in to Game 5 on NBCSN, and/or stream the action here.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.