With 30 seconds left the game was tied and the Penguins were left stunned. Instead of capitalizing on their late power play, they tried to play in a lockdown mode to solidify the win and it cost them the game.

Game three proved just how exciting and intense playoff hockey is. As the game advanced to overtime you could sense the tension.

Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone sitting on the edges of their seats watching each goalie make save after save. Both Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson put on a goaltending clinic, stoning shooters point black. In the end Anderson got the last save and the Senators now have life in the series.

Before the game I talked about what the Senators needed to do to get back into the series and win game 3. Get better goaltending, score more goals and keep Sidney Crosby off the scoreboard. The Senators managed to accomplish all three of those things and it resulted in a game 3 win.

While they didn’t have an offencive outburst, they did manage to outscore the Penguins. The key to winning a hockey game is to score more goals than your opponent before time runs out, the Senators managed to do that.

Game Notes

• Craig Anderson stopped 49 of 50 shots through 5 periods for the win. He stood tall all night, stopping rush after rush from the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. With Anderson stopping virtually everything he saw, all the Senators had to do was score some goals. While he hadn’t been great through the first two games of the season, he looked stellar tonight. If Anderson plays as well as he did in game 3, there’s no reason the Senators can’t upset the Penguins.
• Aside from exciting hockey the other thing the playoffs are famous for is turning some-what unknown players into heroes. Remember Trevor Lewis and Dwight King from the LA Kings Stanley Cup win? They were virtual nobodies before the Stanley Cup Finals. Last night Colin Greening scored the overtime winner which gave life to the Senators. Greening is a player who has come alive during the playoffs. He’s scored 3 goals in his last 3-playoff games. Greening may not be a star like Kyle Turris or Jason Spezza but when he’s contributing it only helps the Sens.
• Jason Spezza played his first game since January 27th and looked pretty decent. He played just under 19 minutes registering 4 shots and winning 60% of his face-offs. Spezza’s return provided some offencive depth for the Senators and allowed them to play two top lines.
• After the game everyone was upset with the officiating. While no game will ever be officiated perfectly, the referees have not been great through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The call everyone is most upset about is a missed high-stick to the face of Erik Karlsson. Matt Cooke attempted to clear the puck but instead nailed Karlsson right in the face. There was no call on the play and Karlsson was not a happy camper. Should there have been a penalty on the play? Yes, but Erik Karlsson is beginning to get a bad reputation for diving. He was even given a penalty for diving in this game. It’s a shame because Karlsson is a fantastic young defenceman, but the book on him is that he’ll go down pretty easily with minimal contact. If Karlsson wants to get some of those close calls, he’ll need to stop diving, snapping his head back and yelling at the officials.

With game 4 set to go on Wednesday night, the Senators now know they can beat the Penguins and Tomas Vokoun. The Senators have life and fight; we’ll see if they can make the series into a war with a game 4 victory.

May 18, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the game-winning goal against the Los Angeles Kings in overtime of game three of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at HP Pavilion. The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday evening, the round two match-up between the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks shifted to the Shark Tank, and with the change in scenery came a change in the result: San Jose finally broke into the win column with a 2-1 overtime victory against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Game 4 will be played Tuesday night in the Shark Tank, and the question on my mind is, are the Sharks in a position to make a series out of this, or did their victory obscure the fact that they are dead in the water, with no hope of winning four games in this series?

There’s not much doubt that the Sharks have been the aggressors on offense so far this series, out-shooting the Kings in two out of the three games (they tied for SOG in game 2) and averaging 35 shots a night.  They managed to score three times on Jonathan Quick in game 2, and were in control of most of that game until a few late penalties gave LA new life.  Their power play has been hit-or-miss, but they did manage to earn two power play goals in game 3, which could be an ominous sign for the Kings should San Jose’s power play get back on track (3rd best in the NHL during the regular season). With another game in one of the NHL’s most intimidating arenas, the Sharks could turn the tide of this series if they win game 4 and square everything up.

On the other hand, as aggressive as the Sharks have been shot-wise, they were a questionable penalty away from squandering their return home to the Shark Tank Saturday night.  Had Trevor Lewis not been called for goalie interference with just under 5 seconds remaining in regulation, overtime could very well have been dominated by Mr. Quick, who certainly would have had a much clearer head than he did upon witnessing that questionable call.   After all, San Jose opened OT with a 5-on-3 advantage and failed to score on the first power play, meaning that Lewis’ penalty gave them a second power play that most people argue the Sharks didn’t deserve.  They capitalized on it, but they certainly cannot feel too confident about needing a controversial call late in regulation to give them the edge required to win.  You better believe Los Angeles is going to have some extra fuel for their competitive fire when game 4 comes around, and San Jose has proven to be the team most likely to commit unnecessary penalties late in these hotly-contested games.  Will LA’s pressure force the Sharks to lose their composure?

I’m on the fence, but find myself feeling that Los Angeles will find a way to win game 4 of this series.  What do you think?