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Sharks stunned by loss
By
ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, QMI Agency
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  San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (C), Niclas Wallin (R) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (L) look up to watch a replay of the game-winning goal that ended their season after the Vancouver Canucks scored in the second overtime period of Game 5 of their NHL Western Conference Final hockey playoff game in Vancouver, British Columbia May 24, 2011. REUTERS/Andy Clark
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VANCOUVER - The San Jose Sharks were too stunned to even comprehend what happened.
They played their guts out Tuesday, pumping 56 shots at Roberto Luongo, only to suffer another post-season heartbreak, this time on a freak goal in double overtime.
A team that leads the league in anguish added to its total in a big way with their bewildering defeat in Game 5.
“Tired, disappointed, all the feelings that go with losing a series and losing it that way,” said Sharks coach Todd McClellan. “But I’m proud of them, they worked very hard.
“We’re going to work ourselves right back to this spot and we’re going to make good on it next time.”
Patrick Marleau has been through every tear in San Jose’s history and ranks this among the all-time lows.
“Successful season for us is winning the Cup, anything short is not good enough,” he said. “It’s frustrating to see it slip away like that.”
Contending teams have a limited window in which to win a championship and the Sharks are running out of time.
“We still have a lot of the core guys,” sighed Marleau. “We desperately want to win, we want to find a way.”
ROBERT.TYCHKOWSKI@Sunmedia.ca
TWITTER.com/TYCHKOWSKI
