SAN JOSE, Calif. – In the Sharks' 4-3 win in Game 3, defenseman Douglas Murray helped turn back a pair of second-period power plays when the Canucks had a two-man advantage.
On Sunday, Murray was on the ice for two of Vancouver's three successive 5-on-3 power-play goals in the second period. And it was his delay of game penalty for knocking the puck over the glass that contributed to the 5-on-3 onslaught.
After the Sharks' 4-2 loss at HP Pavilion, a frustrated and angry Murray addressed the media gathered at his locker.
Q: Have you ever seen anything like that before, three 5-on-3s in succession?
Murray: I don't think so. I don't think I've seen it before. To be honest with you, I haven't seen the calls or anything. I can't really comment on them.
Q: You had success 5-on-3 in the last game. Did they make adjustments, were they doing something different?
Murray: They made great plays. The first one, (Sami) Salo makes a great play with (Ryan) Kesler. Both (Antti Niemi) and (Joe Pavelski) almost get it. The second one, they make a great play again. I know it's going there. I try to block it. They get it through. They executed, and we didn't stop them.
Q: Were those the same plays you were seeing last time?
Murray: Similar. You kind of know what plays they're running. It's 5-on-3, you can't cover everything. You know going into a game what the team's trying to do, but you don't stop it all the time. They did a better job executing than we did.
Q: Did the Sharks come out with the same energy you had in Game 3?
Murray: I can't really say that, based on the play. Looking at the shots, I think it was a way sloppier game from us. The puck was bouncing around a lot. We weren't clean in our plays and our execution like we were in the other game. That leads to maybe taking penalties or giving up prime scoring chances.
Q: How was the ice?
Murray: Same for them as for us. It's no advantage to them. They handled it better than we did, I guess.
Q: You guys talked about how Game 3 had to be like a Game 7, that every game did. Do you think you guys approached it like a Game 7?
Murray: I hope we did. Pretty frustrated and (angry) right now. It's tough to look at it. We always talk about the game the next day. Right now I'm pretty (angry).
Q: Can you talk about your delay of game penalty and the too many men on the ice?
Murray: The puck bounces back to me, I go to clear. I don't know if I was exactly right on the borderline on the ice or if he gets a stick in on it or not, but it's a rule. I haven't seen a replay, so I can't really comment on it. But if I'm behind the blue and he didn't touch it, it's a penalty. I can't do that.
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