Sharks' Hertl forces Game 7 vs. Knights with 2OT goal

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[April 22, 2019]    Tomas Hertl scored a short-handed goal with 8:43 remaining in the second overtime, and Martin Jones made a franchise-record 58 saves as the San Jose Sharks forced a Game 7 in their Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Vegas Golden Knights with a 2-1 victory on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) follows the play during the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights in game six of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

With Barclay Goodrow in the penalty box for slashing Brayden McNabb, Hertl took a stretch pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic at the Vegas blue line and then fired a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that beat Marc-Andre Fleury on his blocker side for the game-winner.

The goal was the first short-handed winner in a multi-overtime game in NHL history. It came on San Jose's only shot of the second overtime and evened the best-of-seven series at three games apiece after consecutive Sharks victories. Game 7 is Tuesday night in San Jose.

Logan Couture also scored for San Jose, which won a double-overtime playoff game in Las Vegas for the second straight year.

Jones, pulled in four of his previous eight games against the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, also set a career-high with the 58 saves, 10 more than his previous mark.

Jonathan Marchessault scored a goal, and Fleury stopped 27 of 29 shots for the Golden Knights.

San Jose took a 1-0 lead with nine seconds to go in the first period on Couture's fourth goal of the playoffs. Timo Meier poked the puck away from Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland in the neutral zone to Couture, who then carried the puck into the Golden Knights' zone. He deked Nate Schmidt and then fired a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that beat Fleury on his glove side.

Marchessault tied it midway through the second period when he backhanded a rebound of a Shea Theodore shot over Jones' right pad. It was Marchessault's third straight game with a goal.

Vegas dominated the action from midway of the second period to the end of the third, outshooting the Sharks, 25-3, over one 22 1/2-minute span and 17-4 in the third period. The best chance for the Golden Knights came with four minutes to go when Tomas Nosek broke in free up the middle for an apparent breakaway, but Brenden Dillon dove at the last minute and swiped the puck off Nosek's stick before he could get a shot off.

Both teams had excellent chances to win it in the first overtime. Meier had a shot that went by Fleury but was saved at the goal line by the skates of defensemen Colin Miller and Jon Merrill before it could trickle in. Marchessault had two close-in wrist shots in the slot just seconds apart that Jones stopped.

Vegas finished with a 59-29 shot advantage, including an 8-1 edge in the second overtime.

--Field Level Media

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