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.