What could have been a monumental Sharks win was wrecked by poor refereeing in the final 25 minutes of action tonight.
The Sharks got off to a bad start, allowing three goals in 10 minutes in the first period. But they improved over the course of the game, and even took dominance from the middle of the second period to the middle of the third period.
Joe Thornton contributed two scrappy goals close to the net before completing his first hat trick since October 2010 with a snipe through his defender.
Thornton’s third gave the Sharks their first and only lead of the game with six and a half minutes remaining.