SAN JOSE – With captain Joe Pavelski out of the lineup, there are a couple of Sharks who have really put pressure on themselves to step up in his absence. Tomas Hertl, who took on more of a leadership role for San Jose in the regular season, has been one of those players.
So with San Jose facing a crucial power play while trailing late in the second period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoff second-round series with the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, Hertl knew he had to bury any chance he got.
“I got, like, four chances in one shift on the power play,” he said, critiquing his performance after the Sharks' 2-1 win in Game 5.. “It was a couple bad shots, I have to be a little bit better. But we finally got the power play down.”
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Hertl was a big reason why, redirecting Logan Couture’s shot to tie the game 1-1 just before the end of the second period. He added to that goal, winning 67 percent of his faceoffs and grinding to deposit the game-winner early in the third period.
In short, Hertl was one of the Sharks' heroes in Game 5.
“I thought he was a horse tonight,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said after the victory. “I thought he and Logan Couture were fantastic for us. You need those two guys up the middle of the ice when you’re playing a team like this. I thought they were both great from the faceoff circle, all 200 feet of the ice.”
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Hertl’s stats on the evening certainly reflected that. As NBC Sports California statistician Darin Stephens noted, Hertl set playoff career highs in minutes played in regulation (24:01) and shots on goal (eight). He also registered the third two-goal game of his playoff career, and won 14 of 21 draws in a dominant night in the faceoff circle.
He moved up the Stanley Cup playoff scoring chart, too. Hertl is now second among all skaters with eight goals -- Couture has nine -- and 12 points this postseason.
Oh, and Hertl became the second player in Sharks playoff history to tally all of the team’s goals in a win. The only other player to do that? Patrick Marleau, who scored a hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 win 15 years ago.
Of course, even as he grinned while recalling his two-goal effort, Hertl said he was just happy his team got in the win column.
“It doesn’t matter who scores,” he said. “It was a great team effort. Right away from the start we (took) control of the game. We had a couple great chances in the first we should’ve put in. But we just stayed with it even after their goal. We just keep pushing and pushing, and I think we deserve it tonight.”
[RELATED: Sharks' apparent first goal in Game 5 overturned by delayed penalty]
Hertl did admit, however, he was happy his line was able to generate so much offense. With the return of Joonas Donskoi on his wing, Hertl felt he and linemate Evander Kane had more jump, especially after a difficult night in Game 4.
“My legs weren’t working, but today was a different game,” Hertl said of the difference between Games 4 and 5. “And I’m happy just for our line. Tonight we stepped it up.”
Hertl and Co. must continue stepping up if the Sharks are going to close out their series with the Avalanche in six games. The series now moves back to Colorado for Game 6 on Monday, and the Sharks know the speedy Avs won’t go down without a fight.
“We have to be ready because we know in Colorado they will come hard,” Hertl warned. “We’ve (won) there, but we want to finish there. We have to play like this again.”