After a largely futile effort in Game 4 of their first-round matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, the San Jose Sharks extended their season with a victory in Thursday night's Game 5.
The Sharks, who were shut-out in their last meeting in Las Vegas, got off to a hot start early thanks to a first-period goal, scored by Tomas Hertl, just 76 seconds into the game. This was big for a San Jose team that had struggled to get going early in each of its past three games, all of which ended in Golden Knight victories. The Sharks were able to get to Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, after he kept them off the scoreboard with an incredible effort in Game 4.
Logan Couture added a first-period goal off a teammate's missed shot, knocking the rebound past Fleury. A late period goal by Vegas' Evander Kane narrowed the lead to one heading into the second. Barclay Goodrow put the Sharks up for good with a goal midway through the second period. San Jose's goaltender, Martin Jones, had a nice bounce-back effort, turning away 24 Golden Knight shot attempts and shutting them out in the second.
Vegas' Jonathan Marchessault cut the San Jose lead to one, getting one past Jones early in the third. That, however, was somewhat short-lived, as Tomas Hertl came back with his second goal of the night with 5:15 remaining in regulation. Joe Pavelski added an empty net goal to widen their lead to 5-2 with 1:46 to go. With that, the San Jose Sharks put the bow on a complete win and, more importantly, pushed the series one game further.
The Sharks, still down 3-2 in the first-round of their best-of-seven series, will look to force a Game 7 matchup back at the SAP Center with a win on Sunday night in Las Vegas. They'll have to match the intensity they brought with them into Thursday's Game 5; Vegas will certainly be ready to seal the deal, in six, on their home ice.