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SAN JOSE – With captain Joe Pavelski missing, some Sharks really put pressure on him to reinforce himself in his absence. Tomas Hertl, who played a leading role for San Jose in the regular season, was one of those players.
So while San Jose was facing a crucial power play while trailing at the end of the second game of the fifth game of the Stanley Cup playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, Hertl knew that He had to bury his chances.
"I had four chances in a power play round," he said, criticizing his performance after the Sharks' 2-1 victory in Game 5. "It was a couple of bad shots, I have to be a bit a bit better. But we finally managed to bring down the power. "
Hertl was one of the main reasons, redirecting Logan Couture's shot to tie 1-1, just before the end of the second period. He added to that goal, winning 67% of his faceoffs and being ready to dismiss the winner early in the third period.
In short, Hertl was one of the Sharks heroes in the fifth game.
"I thought he was a horse tonight," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said after the victory. "I thought Logan Couture and he were fantastic for us. You need these two guys in the middle of the ice when you play such a team. I thought they were both excellent from the faceoff circle, every 200 feet of ice.
Hertl's statistics during the evening certainly reflected that. As a NBC Sports California statistician Darin Stephens noted, Hertl set career highs in the playoffs in minutes played in regulation (24:01) and shots on goal (eight). He also scored the third game of his career in two-goal series and won 14 of 21 draws at a dominant party in the faceoff circle.
He also climbed the Stanley Cup playoff standings. Hertl is now second among all the skaters with eight goals – Couture has nine – and 12 points this post-season.
Oh, and Hertl became the second player in the history of the Sharks playoffs score all goals of the team in a win. The only other player to do that? Patrick Marleau, author of a hat-trick against the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 win 15 years ago.
Of course, even as he was smiling by remembering his two-goal effort, Hertl said he was happy that his team had entered the winning streak.
"It does not matter who marks," he said. "It was an excellent team effort. From the beginning, we have (taken) control of the game. We had two good chances in the first that we should have put. But we stayed with that even after their goal. We keep pushing and pushing, and I think we deserve it tonight. "
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Hertl admitted, however, that he was happy that his line could have generated so much offense. With the return of Joonas Donskoi on his wing, Hertl felt more comfortable with team-mate Evander Kane, especially after a tough night in the fourth game.
"My legs were not working, but today was a different game," said Hertl about the difference between Matches 4 and 5. "And I'm happy just for our line tonight we have stepped up.
Hertl and Co. must continue to progress if the Sharks are to complete their series with Avalanche in six games. The series is now back in Colorado for the sixth game on Monday, and the Sharks know that the Avs rapids will not be dropped without a fight.
"We have to be ready because we know that in Colorado they will come out very strong," warned Hertl. "We won here, but we want to finish here. We have to play like this again. "
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