How Sharks Fulfilled Grier’s Vision for One Night (+)

NEW YORK – For one period, the supposedly lottery-bound San Jose Sharks were better than a Stanley Cup contender. Much better, in fact.

Tied 2-2, the 0-5-0 Sharks outshot the New York Rangers 16-2 in the third period, setting the stage for Erik Karlsson’s game-winning OT heroics.

For an almost 14-minute stretch, from 4:37 to 18:27 of the final frame, San Jose actually held New York without a shot.

I know, it’s just one game. But if the Sharks do turn around their season, it’s going to be on the foundation of what we saw last night.

So, um, what happened last night?

Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant had no answers after the game: “I have no idea where that [third period] came from. I have no idea what went wrong. It was just a total collapse. It was embarrassing, actually.”

“This is the way we are gonna have to try and play,” Karlsson explained. “It’s all about doing it consistently.”

I re-watched the third period and here’s what I saw.