Final, Canucks 3-2: The Canucks scored a bizarre game-winner 10:18 into double overtime, and I guarantee no one on the Sharks — and very few on the Canucks — even know how the goal happened.
Alex Edler had the puck along the right boards and tried to dump the puck behind the net, but it took a quirky bounce off the glass. Everyone on the ice thought the puck bounced straight up into the air, and they reacted as if it was lost into the stands. But it bounced out and backward to the high slot to Kevin Bieksa, who fired a bouncing shot into the net. Antti Niemi had no idea where the puck was until it bounced in and out of the net.
It took several television replays to even understand what happened, which made the celebration even more bizarre because the officials hadn't signaled for a goal. It would have taken a solid 20 minutes for the arena crew to clean the confetti off the ice to get the game under way if it was ruled a non-goal.
Double overtime, 13:45, 2-2: Douglas Murray had a big-time open-ice hit on Ryan Kesler, who scored the game-tying goal forever ago. The chances have not been as fluid in this overtime after a freewheeling initial extra session. It's time to get greasy.
Double overtime, 17:06, 2-2: Torrey Mitchell had his best shift of the game and helped set up three opportunities, including a shot of his own. Dany Heatley had the best look from the slot, but his low wrister missed the net.
Double overtime, 19:59, 2-2: Two overtimes? Why not?
End of first overtime, 2-2: Even though it got sloppy at the end of the first overtime, the play was a little more exciting because it opened up a little more. Roberto Luongo has been the difference in this game with 50 saves. Antti Niemi has made 27.
Overtime, 2:38, 2-2: Dany Heatley has been the Sharks' best player in overtime, and it's not even close. He just broke up a centering pass through the zone, and if he didn't, Raffi Torres would have ended the Sharks' season.
Overtime, 4:50, 2-2: This game has slowed down a little bit as the ice has gotten sloppy, and the players have gotten tired. I would think that would favor the Sharks because they've been a much deeper team throughout the entirety of Game 5.
Overtime, 13:05, 2-2: Roberto Luongo has had to make a series of great saves in overtime, as the Sharks have continued to dominate the play when the Sedins have been on the bench. The Sharks also got away with an obvious high stick when Niclas Wallin clubbed Mason Raymond in the mouth by the boards. If you're keeping score at home, the Canucks have a "Last Boy Scout" in them as far as makeup calls are concerned.
Overtime, 15:05, 2-2: Forget swallowing the whistles in overtime, the officials made a pathetic non-call when Ian White slid into Jannik Hansen, who was about to break free into the San Jose zone along the left boards. Tripping, interference, whatever, that was a flat-out penalty by principal and by the potential factor for injury. White knew he was beat, too, so he did what he had to do to stop the breakaway. That's awful on the officials' part.
Overtime, 17:40, 2-2: Aside from a brief San Jose rush, the extra session has been dominated by the Canucks, who have had several good looks but have had difficulty putting the puck on the net.
Overtime, 19:59, 2-2: The Canucks are a goal shy of their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1994. The Sharks are a goal short of Game 6. Let's see what happens.
Third intermission, 2-2: The Versus slow-motion cameras showed something very interesting. Dan Boyle cleared the puck from behind the net, and the puck actually glided off the glass and grazed Daniel Sedin before an icing call that should have never happened. If it weren't for that, this game would be over.
Both goalies are playing well. Both teams have struggled to generate consistent scoring chances for the last two periods. And because of that, this game could go forever.
Third period, 0:13, 2-2: A long bout of silence ended with an eruption in Vancouver, as the Canucks tied the game with an extra attacker and 13.2 seconds remaining in regulation. Ryan Kesler stayed banked in front of the net — amazingly, none of the three Sharks around him laid a finger on him — and he tipped a shot from the right point. It looked like a harmless bid, but Kesler made it count to knot the score.
Third period, 1:08, Sharks 2-1: That might have been the first whistle in 10 or 11 minutes. Roberto Luongo had to go back in net after the Canucks were whistled for icing. Let's see what the Sedin line can do here.
Third period, 3:18, Sharks 2-1: Things have tilted in Vancouver's favor, but there was an eight-minute stretch when nothing happened. The Sharks have been playing conservatively to protect the lead, and the Canucks can't get anything going when the first line isn't on the ice. That's a recipe for a whole lot of nothing.
Third period, 11:52, Sharks 2-1: Roberto Luongo made another terrific save to rob a Dany Heatley wrister. With that, Heatley, Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi — the three Sharks who have taken the most heat in this series — have all come to play in the third period of Game 5.
Third period, 16:10, Sharks 2-1: The Sharks dodged a bullet when Marc-Edouard Vlasic hit the ice after he took Alex Burrows' high stick to the face. The Canucks continued their possession in the San Jose zone as Vlasic stayed on the ice. Vlasic left the ice with a towel over his face, so let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but he might have tried to sell that a little bit, too. Either way, no penalty.
Third period, 19:36, Sharks 2-1: Roberto Luongo is going to get killed for this one. Joe Pavelski made an amazing play at center ice to knock the puck around Henrik Sedin, and he led a two-man rush into the Vancouver zone. Luongo left the net to chase down the dangling puck in the slot, but Pavelski made another slick play to dive forward and knock the puck to the right to Devin Setoguchi, who banked it into an open net. With the way Luongo has been seeing the puck in this game, he would have been better off staying square in his net, but that's all hindsight right now.
Third period, 19:59, 1-1: Two down, one to go.
Second intermission, 1-1: The Sharks will be happy to get out of that period with a tie game because the Canucks were steamrolling them in the last three or four minutes. The puck movement from the Sedin line has been tremendous throughout the game. On one hand, I'd be surprised if the Canucks won this game with just one line and Roberto Luongo playing well. On the other hand, that's a heck of a combination to have rolling in front of your home crowd.
Second period, 1:43, 1-1: The Sharks used their timeout after an icing call, which followed a series of turnovers in their own zone. Both teams have used their timeouts in the exact same fashion.
Henrik Sedin nearly set up Alex Burrows' second goal of the night. Sedin fed Burrows in front of the net, and Antti Niemi appeared to get just enough of the pad on the puck to deflect it wide of the post.
Second period, 3:20, 1-1: Interestingly, Kyle Wellwood replaced Devin Setoguchi on the Sharks' first power-play line. Setoguchi has had a very poor series, and he made a dumb mistake on their last man advantage, which likely played a big part in the benching. With Dany Heatley's demotion and Setoguchi's removal from the power play, Sharks coach Todd McLellan has shown he'll make some tough roster decisions to shake up his team with the season on the line.
Second period, 6:22, 1-1: The Canucks had a rare burst going, but they lost it with a too-many-men penalty. Ryan Kesler has also returned to the Vancouver bench, so it's a good news-bad news thing for that team right now.
Second period, 9:21, 1-1: Torrey Mitchell was called for tripping to give the Canucks their first power play of the game. By the way, Patrick Marleau was originally credited with Dan Boyle's goal. Marleau was cutting across the front of the net, but it was pretty clear that he never made contact with the puck.
Second period, 10:03, 1-1: With the way Roberto Luongo has been playing in this game, you knew the Sharks were going to need a weird one to beat him, and that's what they got. Dan Boyle took a wrist shot from the left point, and Canucks defenseman Keith Ballard tried to grab it out of the air with his left hand. But all Ballard did was change the direction of the shot, and it snuck through Luongo, who could have made an easy save otherwise.
Another big thing to watch, Ryan Kesler left the ice with an apparent left leg injury, maybe a pulled hamstring or cramp or something of the like.
Second period, 10:53, Canucks 1-0: The Sharks will get another chance after Kevin Bieksa was whistled for high sticking. San Jose had a good power play earlier in the game despite the lack of an actual goal, but the Canucks' overall dominance on special teams have been a major reason for their 3-1 lead.
Second period, 15:07, Canucks 1-0: Henrik Sedin, who has been in on Vancouver's last five goals, nearly created another one. The Canucks took advantage of a bad San Jose change, and Sedin had a shot from the slot. The puck missed the net, but if he lifted it a little more, he could have gotten it over Antti Niemi's right pad. It's also possible Sedin sent a pass intentionally wide for Alex Burrows, who was a little too far behind the play to convert. The Sharks got away with a mental mistake that could have sabotaged their season.
Second period, 19:50, Canucks 1-0: The second period is under way in Vancouver.
First intermission, Canucks 1-0: All in all, each side is probably pretty happy going into the locker room here. The Canucks have gotten phenomenal play from their superstars — Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and Roberto Luongo — but the Sharks have controlled the majority of the play. From there, the Sharks need to do something to disrupt the Sedins' chemistry, which is obviously much easier said than done. And the Canucks have to figure out a way to handle the Sharks' new line combinations.
First period, 2:26, Canucks 1-0: Roberto Luongo was outstanding on the penalty kill, and he has stoned Joe Thornton on two phenomenal chances and two more pretty good ones. The Canucks also had some great defense in front of Luongo, and that's why they have preserved this 1-0 lead.
First period, 5:21, Canucks 1-0: Ryan Kesler was whistled for a questionable slashing penalty, and the Sharks will have a two-man advantage.
First period, 5:57, Canucks 1-0: Henrik Sedin is going to the box for hooking, and the Sharks will have the game's first power play. San Jose has been the much better team when the Sedins have been on the bench, and the Sharks should eventually be able to capitalize if this keeps up. However, they've still got to figure out Vancouver's first line.
First period, 11:58, Canucks 1-0: The Sedins twins have been rolling in this game, and they just set up the first strike of Game 5. Henrik won a battle in the corner and cycled it to Daniel, who gave it back to Henrik on the goal line. Henrik then cut it across the crease to Alex Burrows, who batted the puck into the net. That looked way too easy.
First period, 18:19, 0-0: Two very interesting shifts to start the game. The Sharks had two turnovers in their own zone on their first shift, and the Sedins worked the puck well for a good start. Then, Joe Thornton's line put a couple of good chances on Roberto Luongo, who kept the puck out of the net due to a little bit of luck. Thornton tried to bang home a rebound from below the right circle, and the puck trickled between Luongo's legs. But Thornton has shown that he's felt some pain in his left hand (or arm), and I wonder how much strength he has.
First period, 19:59, 0-0: And they're off.
9:07 p.m.: The Vancouver crowd is jacked up, and that building looks loud as the Canucks skated onto the ice with U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" blaring through the PA system.
8:56 p.m.: Logan Couture will take Dany Heatley's place on the first line with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.
8:48 p.m.: When Joe Thornton left the ice during pregame warmups, he appeared to be favoring something. I don't know if it was an equipment issue or if he's still dealing with some considerable pain from Game 4. Either way, all eyes will be on Thornton on Tuesday night.
8:22 p.m.: It hasn't exactly been a great series for Dany Heatley, the Sharks' highest-paid player who has disappeared to the third line and crushed by the San Jose faithful as a result. But the Sharks really need to see some better play from goalie Antti Niemi, who was otherworldly against Detroit but pedestrian against Vancouver. Of course, Niemi can't force the Sharks to stop taking bad penalties, or Heatley to find the back of the net, or Joe Thornton to get back to 100 percent. But he could make up for a lot of that with a big game, which could bring the series back to San Jose.
12 p.m.: The Canucks' killer instinct has been laughable so far in the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, but they've put themselves in position to change that Tuesday at 9 p.m., when they aim to finish off the Sharks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals in Vancouver.
The Canucks, who have a 3-1 series lead, are 2-4 when trying to close out a series this postseason. They lost three straight to the Blackhawks in the first round to force a Game 7, and they failed in their first attempt to knock out the Predators in the Western semis.
Joe Thornton, who leads the Sharks 14 assists and 17 points, is expected to play after getting knocked out of Game 4.
The Canucks have advanced to two Stanley Cup Finals (1982, 1994), but they have never claimed hockey's top prize.
