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Clowe, Sharks double up Kings to take 3-1 series lead

Apr 22, 2011 - 6:32 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Ryane Clowe netted a pair of goals and Antti Niemi stopped 35 shots as San Jose put a stranglehold on this Western Conference quarterfinal series with a 6-3 decision over the Kings in Game 4 from Staples Center.

Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Torrey Mitchell and Jason Demers also tallied for the Sharks, who scored three times in the third period to win and can advance to the conference semifinals with a victory in Game 5 in San Jose on Saturday.

"They're going to fight and they're going to claw," Thornton said. "The close- out games are always the toughest, so we have to really be ready and take this win and enjoy it for tonight, but get back to work tomorrow."

Justin Williams, Brad Richardson and Alexei Ponikarovsky lit the lamp for the Kings, who were unable to rebound from Tuesday's epic collapse. Los Angeles led 4-0 early in the second period before allowing six of the game's final seven goals in a 6-5 overtime setback.

"It's terrible, but in the playoffs when a game's over you start the next game with a clean slate," said Kings defenseman Jack Johnson. "That's just the way it is, win or lose, each game is a new game and a new beginning. There's no momentum carried over because each game means so much."

Jonathan Quick was tagged for all six goals on 27 shots in defeat.

San Jose notched goals within a 54-second span early in the third period, turning a slim one-goal edge into a comfortable 5-2 lead.

Patrick Marleau fed Thornton, the Sharks captain, on the doorstep at 2:28, then Pavelski tipped in a Dan Boyle offering at 3:22.

Mitchell's tally with 8:18 left in the contest gave the Sharks a four-goal bulge, but Ponikarovsky's deflection score made it 6-3 inside of seven minutes to play.

Los Angeles failed to make further headway despite a two-man advantage for 1:45 in the final three minutes of regulation.

San Jose picked up the game's first score less than four minutes into the second period during a 4-on-4, when Marc-Edouard Vlasic fed Clowe for a tap-in at the left side.

It was a two-goal lead at 5:12, when Logan Couture followed up his own blocked shot in the slot and fed an open Demers. The Sharks enjoyed a three-goal edge at the tail end of a four-minute power play as Clowe shoveled home a Couture rebound.

Richardson put the Kings on the board with exactly nine minutes left in the second. LA pulled within a goal when Williams' pass, intended for Ryan Smyth, redirected off Vlasic's stick with 3:56 remaining.

Game Notes

Couture, Ian White and Kyle Wellwood all posted two assists for the Sharks...Clowe leads San Jose with four goals and seven points...The Kings have not won a playoff series since 2001 and have won just once in 10 tries when trailing three games to one...Kings head coach Terry Murray remains on 49 career postseason victories...Smyth has notched at least one point in all four games...Thornton only has two points in the series, with one each coming in the last two contests.