Late in the first period last night, Brent Burns was in the defensive zone, draped all over Washington Capitals forward Lars Eller. There was no way Eller would get anywhere near the puck or the net. Burns effectively erased Eller from the play as the Capitals cycled the puck to the blueline atop their offensive zone. The giant Sharks’ defenseman’s defense was textbook but for one problem: Burns’ man was Jakub Vrana, and Vrana stood ten feet away to Martin Jones’ right, alone.
John Carlson’s pass found Vrana’s tape, and why wouldn’t it?