Bryan Lerg, San Jose Sharks Cap Off Amazing Night in NHL
There are only 4 days left in the NHL regular season, and many teams are vying for the final few playoff spots in each conference. Tonight, in the East and the West, playoff implications ran wild, and the games were spectacular. One of the places where playoff implications did not run wild, was in Edmonton, Alberta, where the San Jose Sharks took on the Edmonton Oilers in a completely useless game with both teams being eliminated from the playoffs. But at the end of the night, a brand new San Jose Shark gave Sharks fans even more of a reason to cheer tonight.
The night started in Madison Square Garden, as the Ottawa Senators took on the New York Rangers. The Senators were on the outside looking in at the start of the night, and defeated the President’s Trophy winners 3-0, but the Sens still did not control their own fate.
That is until the Florida Panthers put a 3rd period smack down on the Boston Bruins. Jonathan Huberdeau, Brad Boyes, and Jimmy Hayes all beat Tuukka Rask in the 3rd period as the Panthers beat the Bruins 4-2. The Senators now only need a point on Saturday to clinch a playoff birth, and finish up their incredible end of the year run.
In the Western Conference, the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and Los Angeles Kings were all fighting for the final two playoff spots. The Jets would take on the Colorado Avalanche, and a win would clinch their first playoff birth in the new Jets franchise history, but it wasn’t to be as Reto Berra stood on his head, and shut the Jets out for the Avalanche to win in the shootout.
But it wasn’t all lost for the Jets. If the Calgary Flames beat the Los Angeles Kings, the Flames and Jets would make the playoffs while the Kings would head home. I think I can say pretty certainly that every single Sharks fan was an honorary Flames fan tonight. The Flames scored two goals early, and held on late with an empty net goal for a 3-1 win to send them and the Jets to the playoffs, the Kings home early, and everyone other than Kings fans into a frenzy of happiness. It was a perfect night in the NHL.
That is until we checked in on the Sharks and Oilers. Surprise surprise, the Sharks were getting dominated by an Oilers goalie again. Laurent Brossoit had saved 42 shots and kept the Sharks off the scoreboard, until a horrible turnover gave Patrick Marleau a 1 on 1 which he made the most of. But it was Bryan Lerg, 29 years old and playing in his first ever NHL game, that made the night special for the San Jose Sharks. Late in the 3rd period, Bryan Lerg scored his first NHL goal, and it was the game winning goal as the Sharks beat the Oilers 3-1.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs start next Wednesday, and if tonight was even the slightest appetizer of what is to come, I can not wait to see what the main course is. Even with the Sharks out of the playoffs, it’s still the most wonderful time of the year.