The Nashville Predators won a dramatic Game 4 at home against the San Jose Sharks that required two and half overtime periods to finish. Mike Fisher gave the Predators a 2-1 lead in the first period, and some five periods later, he scored his fourth goal of the playoffs, this time a game-winner. As you might expect from a game that was nearly twice as long as a regulation game, it was not without its share of controversy. The San Jose Sharks appeared to have the game won in the first overtime period on a goal from captain Joe Pavelski.Pavelski swiped the puck in at the last second with his stick, but the goal was waived off because referees and the NHL situation room determined that Pavelski made incidental contact with Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, prohibiting him from "from doing his job in the crease." That is certainly the rule, but the rule also provides that if an "attacking player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by a defending player," the attacking player will not be deemed to have initiated the contact, as long as he makes a reasonable effort to avoid contact with the goalie. It's obviously very difficult to parse this out in real time—remember, the referees have been skating with the players for five-plus periods, too—but Pavelski was clearly pushed by a defender and it doesn't seem like there was a whole lot he could have done to avoid Rinne.Nevertheless, the game continued for two more overtime periods before Fisher finally got the game-winner halfway through the third OT. As Mattias Ekholm was coming on the ice, the puck found its way to his stick after the Predators were grinding away in the corner. He had a pretty clean shot on goal that Martin Jones couldn't gobble up. Fisher was waiting in the wings and corralled the puck, moved around Jones and put it in for the win. The Predators were so excited they could barely make it out of the bench in one piece.Nashville is now level with the Sharks at two games apiece. Game 5 will be tomorrow night in San Jose.[CNBC]
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