Before he became Game 7’s unlikely hero against the Golden Knights, before he etched his name into San Jose Sharks’ lore, center Barclay Goodrow sat and waited.
The 26-year-old was benched midway through the second period and took only five shifts in the third and overtime combined. But his fresh legs prevailed when he took a pass from teammate Erik Karlsson, skated around defenseman Brayden McNabb and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and scored to send the Sharks to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 5-4 victory.
“I saw Erik get the puck in the middle there, the D, he was kind of flat-footed, so I tried to skate and maybe get behind him, and Erik made a great pass to me and I was able to just get it on frame,” Goodrow said.