Sudden death. Instant life. Nothing in sports is more intense than overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs, as we learned anew in the Sharks' thrilling and terrifying Game 6 double-overtime win at Vegas on Sunday.
That win ratchets the intensity of the first-round, best-of-seven series up even higher as we now confront a do-or-die scenario. A handshake will happen Tuesday night at SAP Center. What if this one also should go to extra time? The stress is fearsome to contemplate.
The Sharks and their fans have experienced the joy or heartbreak that accompanies a winner-take-all game exactly 10 times. Here's the history.
1994 first round: Sharks 3, Red Wings 2
It still ranks among the greatest upsets in NHL history. A tenacious Sharks group populated by castoffs and youngters made their first-ever playoff appearance.
The offensive magic of aging Red Army legends Sergei Makarov and Igor Larionov. The toughness and savvy of veterans Bob Errey and Gaetan Duchesne. The talent and young legs of pups Sandis Ozolinsh and Ray Whitney. Ulf Dahlen digging pucks out of the corner. Arturs Irbe defending his net Like Wall.
This greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts collective defeated a Stanley Cup favorite stacked with future Hall of Famers Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Paul Coffey and Dino Ciccarelli -- and they did it in Detroit, to boot.
At 13:25 of the third period, Jamie Baker scored the most momentous goal in Sharks history as Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood strayed from his crease. Bakes' winner was immortalized by the keen insight of color analyst Pete Stemkowski: "It's in the net!"
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1994 second round: Maple Leafs 4, Sharks 2
The real action in this series was in Game 6, when Sharks forward Johan Garpenlov's potential overtime series-winner clanged off the crossbar behind Felix Potvin.
In Game 7, the Sharks finally ran out of gas. The Leafs cruised on home ice behind a pair of goals from Wendel Clark and one from Doug Gilmour.
1995 first round: Sharks 5, Flames 4, 2 OT
Another series projected as a mismatch saw the Sharks win squeakers while losing blowouts. In Game 7 in Calgary, original Shark Pat Falloon scored twice, but San Jose gave away a two-goal lead late in the third period.
They hung on for dear life until fellow franchise original Ray Whitney eventually beat Flames goaltender Trevor Kidd over the shoulder in the second overtime -- on assists from Russian icons Larionov and Makarov. To date, it remains the franchise's only Game 7 Golden Goal.
Journeyman netminder Wade Flaherty, aka Flats, came up huge, making 56 saves to enable the upset.
2000 first round: Sharks 3, Blues 1
Then-Sharks analyst Drew Remenda voiced the view of the hockey world before the playoffs began: "There is no way the Sharks are winning this series."
Oops!
In another stunning surprise, a San Jose squad that had barely snuck into the eighth spot overcame a President's Trophy juggernaut led by all-world defensemen Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger. The Sharks shrugged off a 6-2 massacre in Game 6, and took the lead early in Game 7 on a goal from grinder Ronnie Stern.
Then a long-range skipper by Owen Nolan from out near the red line with just 11 seconds remaining in the first broke the Blues' spirit. Sharks goalie Steve Shields got the better of the Blues' Roman Turek between the pipes, and San Jose had sprung another upset on the road.
2002 second round: Avalanche 1, Sharks 0
This was the most bitter of Game 7 defeats. It was the best team in franchise history so far, featuring a mix of veteran performance (Teemu Selanne, Owen Nolan, Vincent Damphousse and Gary Suter) and young talent (Patrick Marleau, Brad Stuart and Marco Sturm) that also was strong in net (Evgeni Nabokov and Miikka Kiprusoff.) The 2001-02 Sharks hung their first-ever Pacific Division banner.
But in Game 7 in Denver against the defending Stanley Cup champions, Selanne missed a wide-open cage from point-blank range with a back-hand shot early in the first. Avalanche legend Peter Forsberg scored early in the second, and Patrick Roy did the rest.
2008 first round: Sharks 5, Flames 3
It was a series much like the current one against Vegas - hotly contested and highly physical. Veteran forward Jeremy Roenick, better known for his accomplishments elsewhere, put his stamp on Game 7 with an epic performance, scoring twice and dishing out a pair of helpers.
Joe Thornton scored the opening goal, and the Sharks rallied from a 2-1 deficit at home with four straight scores, as Nabokov outdueled his former understudy Kiprusoff.
For Sharks fans, pain would pounce in the next round, when the season ended with a quadruple-overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 6.
2011 second round: Sharks 3, Red Wings 2
This series ended up way too close for comfort, as the Sharks handed back every bit of a 3-0 lead to a Detroit team led by superstars such as Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. But in Game 7, San Jose got the jump on the Winged Wheel at SAP Center with first-period goals by Devin Setoguchi and Logan Couture.
Patrick Marleau scored the eventual game-winner -- his first point of the series -- in the third as the Sharks withstood furious Detroit pressure behind 38 saves from Antti Niemi.
2013 second round: Kings 2, Sharks 1
San Jose battled toe-to-toe with the defending Stanley Cup champs coached by former Sharks bench boss Darryl Sutter. It was a series in which every game was won by the home team, and the Sharks couldn't get over the hump in a tight-checking finale at Staples Center.
Game 7 specialist Justin Williams scored both goals for the Kings, and LA goaltender Jonathan Quick sprawled and robbed Joe Pavelski with a spectacular glove save with 5:04 left in the third.
[RELATED: Limiting Sharks' chances is key to a Game 7 victory]
2014 first round: Kings 5, Sharks 1
A series that will live in infamy: the Reverse Sweep.
The Sharks took a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series lead on Marleau's overtime winner in LA, but they couldn't finish the job. A trio of three-goal Kings wins eventually led to the clincher in San Jose.
Team Teal took a short-lived 1-0 lead on defenseman Matt Irwin's goal, but they were then overwhelmed by an LA onslaught and ultimately completed the collapse they had flirted with in 2011. The Kings went on to lift their second Cup, and the Sharks went into a tailspin, missing the playoffs entirely the following season.
2016 second round: Sharks 5, Predators 0
In a series that matched San Jose's strength and skill against Nashville's speed, the Sharks left no doubt in a decisive home victory. Pavelski started the scoring on the power play, Couture scored a goal and added two assists, and Jumbo and Patty each contributed a goal and assist.
Sunday's hero, Martin Jones, delivered a calm 20-save shutout. The most successful playoff run in franchise history ultimately would fall just two victories short of San Jose's first Stanley Cup.
