Fear the Fin · Apr 15, 2019
Winning Play: Thornton loses his way
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — There’s no doubt that emotion is important to winning hockey.
But there’s a thin line between engaged and enraged, and Joe Thornton crossed it in the San Jose Sharks’ Game 3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
In the opening frame, Thornton was San Jose’s most important player. When Vegas overwhelmed the visitors — the Golden Knights, aided by two power plays, reeled off 14 straight shots and two goals in the middle of the period — it was Thornton who stood up to the barrage.
That’s a 39-year-old Thornton (19) flying down the ice, popping it away from Jon Merrill (15), then backhanding a perfect pass into Kevin Labanc’s (62) wheelhouse.
Jumbo’s next shift was arguably better.