NHL playoffs Thursday: Overtime games knot up two series

2. San Jose’s penalty kill came to play

All-in-all, the Predators had five power play chances in Game 4. They scored on none of them. A lot of that is a result of Jones’ brilliance, but the rest of the penalty killers for the Sharks pitched in their best special teams performance of the playoffs, a huge reason the game lasted as long as it did.

The goal counted, and ended up playing a major role in how the game played out. Burns scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period off another pass from Couture, giving San Jose their first lead of the game.

James Neal was one of the most dangerous players on the ice all night, and he finally cashed in late in the third period. Jones coughed up a juicy rebound, and Neal fired into the open net to tie the game with four minutes left in regulation.

That is adorable.

“He’s coming home?,” Sharp’s daughter Sadie asked expectantly, and she was right in more ways than one, as the Stars will host Game 5 in Dallas on Saturday afternoon.

Dallas immediately gave up one of the strangest goals of the playoffs so far. The Stars accidentally put six skaters on the ice in the defensive zone, skated up ice with the puck and quickly gave up a breakaway goal to Vladimir Tarasenko. With six guys on the ice.

That was the only hiccup in a solid first period for Lehtonen and the Stars. The Blues played solidly as well, leading in shots and killing off a Stars power play for the 12th straight time in the series.

But wait! It gets worse when you realize how many Stars were on the ice at the time:

Let’s check in on the Stars’ coach.

The two best teams in the Western Conference will square off in Game 7 when the Dallas Stars host the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN and Sportsnet.

The only reason the Stars won Game 6 was poor goaltending for the Blues and career-best goaltending for Dallas. The Stars finally converted on chances early, scoring three quick goals in the first period to chase Brian Elliott from the net for the first time in the series. Other than that, Kari Lehtonen’s best playoff game kept Dallas hanging on until the final buzzer. They’ll have their home crowd behind them for Game 7, which should help turn the tide a bit.