Sharks 6 - 5 Kings
Final - OT
  for this game

Kings and Sharks head to LA tied at 1-1

Apr 19, 2011 - 3:20 PM (Sports Network) - The Kings will try to carry the momentum in their Western Conference quarterfinal series back to Los Angeles when they host the San Jose Sharks in Game 3 tonight at the Staples Center.

Los Angeles was able to earn a split from the second-seeded Sharks in San Jose, losing Game 1 by a 3-2 score before taking a 4-0 decision in Saturday's second tilt.

The seventh-seeded Kings now have a chance to take control of the best-of- seven series with Games 3 and 4 being played in southern California. Los Angeles was 25-13-3 as the home team in 2010-11 and won five of its last six at the Staples Center to end the regular season.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Division champion Sharks will try to rebound from Saturday's poor effort when they take the ice tonight. San Jose had a solid 23-14-4 mark as the visiting team this year, but the Sharks lost four of their last five on the road.

Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday evening in LA.

Jonathan Quick was perfect between the pipes for Los Angeles on Saturday, as he anchored the Kings to the shutout victory with 34 saves. So far, Quick has stopped 76-of-79 shots in the series after a 42-save effort in the Game 1 loss.

"I got a lot of help from the 20 guys in the locker room," a humble Quick said after notching the first postseason shutout of his career.

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty also had a terrific offensive performance in Game 2, scoring twice and assisting on Los Angeles' other two goals. It was the second four-point game in eight career playoff tilts for the 21-year-old Doughty.

Jack Johnson and Kyle Clifford each added a goal and an assist in Saturday's win.

Antti Niemi made just 19 saves for the Sharks, who were shut out for the first time since a 1-0 setback to Anaheim on Jan. 9. San Jose failed to score on five power-play opportunities in the Game 2 setback and is 0-for-7 on the man advantage for the series.

"If we don't have anger or a bit of shame ... I would be extremely disappointed," Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said of his team's attitude following Game 2.

The Sharks won the Pacific Division for a third straight season this year and are trying to make another deep postseason run after getting to the conference finals last spring before being swept by Chicago.

Los Angeles is back in the playoffs for a second straight year after missing the postseason tournament in the previous six seasons. The Kings, who lost to Vancouver in the first round last spring, haven't won a playoff series since beating Detroit in the opening round of the 2001 postseason.

The Kings will get forward Jarret Stoll back this evening after he served a one-game suspension. Stoll, who had 20 goals and 23 assists in 82 games for LA this year, received the ban for a hit from behind on San Jose defenseman Ian White in Game 1.

White, meanwhile, missed Game 2 and is questionable for tonight's game with a head injury. Rookie Justin Braun skated in White's place on Saturday and logged over 15 minutes of ice time.

These division rivals split six regular season games this year, but the Sharks held the points edge over LA with a 3-1-2 mark and posted a 6-1 home victory in the final meeting on April 4.

This is the first time the Sharks and Kings are meeting in the postseason.






Related News