May 16 (UPI) -- The San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-4 in overtime after a controversial no-call and grabbed a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference finals.
Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson scored 5:23 into the extra period after on-ice officials missed an apparent hand pass by forward Timo Meier. The winger used his right hand to bat a loose puck toward the front of the net.
Gustav Nyquist then passed the puck over to Karlsson, who deposited a shot past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington for the game-winning goal in Game 3.
"I think we deserved to win this game," Karlsson told reporters. "At the end of the day, I think neither team drew the shortest stick on any of the calls out there so it was a fair game."
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Binnington and the Blues immediately pleaded with the officials. St. Louis believed the play should have been blown dead after Nyquist got the puck from the hand pass, but play continued. The on-ice refs huddled to discuss the sequence as the Sharks celebrated, but the goal stood.
The NHL said after the game that the play was not reviewable.
"No explanation [from the officials]," Blues head coach Craig Berube told reporters. "What do you guys think? There's no reason to ask me. I have nothing to say about it. ... We all got to move on from it and get ready for Game 4. Really, that's all you can do. There's nothing we can do about what happened."
The Blues held a 4-3 lead before Sharks forward Logan Couture tied the game with 61 seconds left in the third period. Joe Thornton scored twice for San Jose, and Karlsson notched two goals.
Blues winger David Perron had two goals. Alexander Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko each scored once. Binnington made 27 saves and Sharks goaltender Martin Jones stopped 28 shots.
Game 4 is Friday night at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
