SAN JOSE – Timo Meier set multiple team records with his five-goal outburst Monday afternoon in the Sharks’ 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center.
Meier became the first Sharks player to score five goals in a single game and his three first period goals, coming in 19:09, set another team record for the fastest hat trick from the start of a game. He then scored his fourth and fifth goals in the second period to stake the Sharks to a 6-1 lead.
Meier’s first four goals came in 18:22 of actual game time, setting another Sharks individual record. The former record of four goals in 22:46 was set by Tomas Hertl on Oct. 8, 2013 against the New York Rangers in what was his third NHL game.
“That’s now a long time ago,” Hertl said Monday. “Today was Timo’s night.”
Here’s what else the Sharks were saying about Meier’s record-setting game.
BOB BOUGHNER
“The first period he had and coming back and getting another two in the second, it was nice to see. We’ve talked about the season he’s had, being voted as our all-star, which was much deserved. We talked about all his work away from the puck. With one of these games today, I believe if you put in enough good, hard work, it pays you back a little bit. Timo got paid back and our team, I think, got paid back a little bit.”
“He’s naturally gifted. He’s bigger, stronger, faster than most guys in the league. I don’t want to take credit other than just trying to make him a 200-foot player. Timo deserves all the credit. He’s put in a lot of hard work and he’s got to commit to that and he did.”
TOMAS HERTL
“I think he worked really hard on his game. The games before he was always up and down. He was skating and on the puck one night and otherwise, he was nowhere. This year, he’s just come and he’s there for us every night, and that’s what the best players in the NHL do. If you want to be the best and help the team win, you have to be there most nights, you can’t be one night off and one night on. This year he is there most nights and he’s helping us win a lot of games for us.”
ERIK KARLSSON
“It’s always nice to see guys have these accomplishments like that. It raises the spirit of the whole team. I think it was a big game for us.”
“He’s a big boy and he skates well and I think that he’s starting to use that to his advantage a little bit more, and it’s hard to do that. He’s starting to realize that he can put a lot of guys on his back and create a lot of things for himself with his size and his speed, and the puck keeps going in.”
“He finds open areas out there and he’s been doing that on a consistent level this year, which I think has come with the experience that he’s had and the things that he’s gone through. I think we all knew that he had great potential, but this year he’s definitely matured into a way where he thinks that on a nightly basis and even though it doesn’t always work out on the scoresheet, he still keeps going. If you keep doing that, you’re going to have games like this.”
TIMO MEIER
Did you want six? “I always want to score goals. Yeah, you don’t really think too much about that. The main focus is to win the game. Obviously, after the game, you realize that stuff. I know Mike Ricci had five goals (with Quebec). He told me that. But I think overall, a great team effort. My linemates made some really nice passes on the power play, too.”
On the game’s flow: “Especially in the first two periods, we didn’t really create much in the offensive zone and we were spending most of the time defending, to be honest, but our chances were going in. In past games when we were creating a lot of chances, we just couldn’t find the back of the net. So today, it was kind of a little bit the opposite. It’s nice to see them go in.”
To hear the crowd chant his name: “It’s special. It’s almost, you can’t describe it. Yeah, very special, goosebump feeling. Our fans have been great. So it’s just really, really cool.”
Confidence right now: “When you feel like things are going your way in the game, then you definitely feel more comfortable with the puck and maybe try a shot from the spot where you wouldn’t shoot in another game. But yeah, just a really nice play by Hertl there, a sauce over on that last goal, and like I said, some really nice setups by our guys.
Did you ever think a game like this was possible? “No.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com