Joe Thornton, Sharks Get Kicked Below the Belt, As Detroit Poised to Deliver Knockout Blow in Game 7

Let’s get this out of the way first. The San Jose Sharks are going to become the fourth NHL team in history to blow a 3-0 series lead on Thursday night. It’s not a matter of “if.” It’s going to happen. If you’ve watched the Sharks in the playoffs at all in the past seven or so seasons, you know this.

So the fans in San Jose are bracing for a figurative punch in the gut. Meanwhile, their captain was literally absorbing a body blow … though his was a bit lower.

Joe Thornton, fresh off his shameful dive on Sunday night in Game 5, decided to throw his shoulder into Pavel Datsyuk as the horn sounded at the end of the first period on Tuesday night in Game 6. Perhaps it was because Jumbo Joe felt like imposing his will on the much smaller Datsyuk, or maybe it’s because he knew that the most epic game of keep-away was about to take place a period later, with Datsyuk playing the role of mouse and Thornton the cat.

Whatever the case, Thornton hit Datsyuk, and Datsyuk held his ground. Almost.

As Datsyuk struggled to keep his feet on the ice, the Red Wings’ leading scorer stuck out his right leg. Maybe he was trying to regain balance, or maybe he was trying to take Thornton down with him. Whatever his intentions were don’t really matter, though. What matters is the result, which was a pro-wrestling style low blow, delivered by Datsyuk’s skate.

Needless to say, Joe hated it. He also probably hated losing about 90 minutes later, and he’ll probably hate it when the Red Wings pull off the incredible comeback on Thursday night.

(Oh, and all of this took place in front of a Jimmy John’s ad, which just makes it a wee bit funnier, don’t you think?)

Photo(s) of the Day

Will this be the low point of the series for Joe Thornton, or will it get worse in Game 7? Watch the sequence of events unfold in these photos, then share your thoughts in the comments section below.