You know the Sharks got it right in Game 2 when no one was asked afterward how much Evander Kane was missed.
Mind you, his teammates and coaches will certainly be happy to welcome their top-line threat back on Monday when the knotted best-of-seven second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Vegas shifts to SAP Center in San Jose for Game 3.
Logan Couture's power-play goal 5:13 into a second overtime period on Saturday fueled a 4-3 victory, handed the Golden Knights their first playoff loss in history and validated Peter DeBoer's inclination how San Jose would respond to a 7-0 loss during Thursday's series opener.
"We were better everywhere," the coach said. "We were tighter, our team was better. We were better in every situation. I knew we would be, and the guys responded."
Inside the Cage: Response Made
Timo Meier was promoted in place of the suspended Kane alongside captain Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi at the outset of Game 2. And, fittingly, it was Meier who drew a hooking minor from gassed Golden Knights defenseman Jon Merrill five minutes and five ticks into the second sudden death session.
In addition to taking a rather large step in his development this season - a year that saw his match his age with 21 goals - Meier used his strength and determination to draw on average the sixth most minor penalties of skaters with at least 70 games played.
And a Sharks' power play that needed only four seconds to strike and finally break through Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury earlier efficiently used eight seconds to send 18,000 fans exiting toward the Strip with the feeling of rolling snake eyes.
In addition to a key faceoff win by Pavelski to start the sequence and Brent Burns getting Vegas penalty-killing box to shift as he skated along the blue line to center, Kevin Labanc made a splendid look-off pass to feed Couture. The Golden Knights were late to react when Labanc opted away from his hard shot and zip-lined a pass through the box.
"I think when you're creating offensive chances and you force them to play defensive hockey that's when penalties happen," said Couture, who scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the postseason. "You wear them down and the defense gets tired."
That might be the biggest takeaway from Game 2, and what gives the Sharks renewed optimism for what is now a best-of-five. The longer the game went, the more San Jose's improved management of the puck, its extended possessions in the Vegas defensive zone and noticeable reduction of turnovers cut the hosts' perceived advantage in the speed department.
"We fixed some things and it was a better team game," Burns said.
"Four-on-four, five-on-five, special teams, we were better," DeBoer added. "And we got the result we deserved."
They got the result they deserved even after trailing 1-0 following the first 20 minutes in which they outplayed the Golden Knights, and after falling into a two-goal hole 26 seconds into the middle period. Doubt could creep into the minds of a less experienced team after surrendering the first nine goals of a playoff series, but not this resilient group.
"First period was tough, I thought we played really well," Couture said as the Sharks outshot the Golden Knights 9-5. "We generated a lot of chances. They get one off the end boards 4-on-4, but it was nice to come back and get the lead."
Both Pavelski and Couture had Grade-A scoring chances go awry in those opening 20 minutes. "We want to play with that lead and we don't want to chase in the series all the time," said Pavelski, who had two assists and five shots during 32:07 of ice time. "For us to come out in the second, get the momentum going, score a few goals and understand what can work for us."
Burns power-play goal at 2:00 was followed by Couture's first of the night at 11:08 with the teams skating four aside. The key was to break through against Fleury, who was coming off already his third shutout during Vegas' first five games of the playoffs. In the end, Fleury surrendered one more goal on Saturday than he let in during the entire first-round sweep of Los Angeles.
"He is a hot goalie and as you can get to him hopefully they keep coming," Pavelski said. "It was important that we got to him. Once we did in that second period we gained a little confidence and we were about to get going a little bit."
Burns carried the puck from the right point behind the Vegas net and beat Fleury with a wrap-around for the go-ahead goal at 14:07 of the second. Pavelski was another offensive-zone draw, which Meier touched back to Burns.
"Great faceoff by Pavs," said Burns, who logged 36:48 of ice time. "And guys going to the net. Just a bounce."
The Sharks were disappointed to allow a third-period tying goal at 13:28 when Melker Karlsson was unable to block Nate Schmidt's blue line shot to instead screen goalie Martin Jones in the process. But Jones shook off that goal just like his sub-par performance in Game 1.
"My confidence isn't going to get shaken from one bad game," Jones said. "You put that behind you. That's why you have a routine, you have a way to prepare for games so you can lean on that."
The Sharks forged on with minor tweaks DeBoer made along the way. Mikkel Boedker joined Pavelski's line while Donskoi dropped down to play alongside Chris Tierney. And Paul Martin's minutes were cut to 10:38 as DeBoer relied on a rotation of five defensemen from the third period to the game's finish.
"I think we took the approach all year that we play our game and at the end of the day good things happen," DeBoer said. "So, we stuck with it."
In the end special teams made a difference. The Sharks were 2-for-7 on the power play and snuffed out Vegas only two man-advantage chances, something that chaffed at Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant.
"They still played a good game," Pavelski said. "And it came right down to the end with a few plays, and it went our way."
