Ryan Leong filling in for Cam Gore. Cam will blog for Game 6
The Sharks did their best defensively but it was like putting up sand bags to stop an oncoming flood. In short, the Kings were relentless keeping their foot on the gas pedal all night and the Sharks eventually got run over.
Goals by Anze Kopitar and Slava Voynov and an empty netter from Jeff Carter lifted the Kings to a 3-0 win over the Sharks and a 3-2 lead in the series.
The Kings physically pushed the Sharks all over the rink, outhitting San Jose, 51-24.
As they are now deeper into the playoffs, scores are lower and scoring chances are fewer. If not for the stellar play from Antti Niemi, the Kings should likely have won this game 6-0.
On the first goal, Niemi had his stick knocked away only to be given Matt Irwin's stick at the last moment but with so much traffic in front of him, a slapshot from the right point by Kyle Clifford was saved but the puck was right in front for the easy tip in by Kopitar off the right skate of Niemi and into the open net.
Trailing 1-0, Joe Thornton, normally so good on faceoffs but he loses the draw against Trevor Lewis. The puck trickles back to Slava Voynov and the one-timer near the point beats Niemi for the two goal Kings lead.
Comments from Coach Todd McLellan following the loss: "We've got a lot of things to improve on and we need a better effort from a lot of people. You have to give LA credit they played well too but our go-to-guys weren't particularly sharp tonight. When that happens your depth has to come through as well and they have to provide a little spark, a little bit of energy and maybe get you one. This was a team loss, this wasn't just a few guys."
"I know it was not our most complete game. The kings have played well, it's been very tight, very competitive. Their special teams tonight were better than ours and I think that was one of the big differences."
"It's going to be a good game in San Jose, I know we're going to play better."
Scoring details
2nd period
LA – 18:08 –EV – 11 A. Kopitar (2) – 14 J. Williams (2) – 13 K. Clifford (1)
3rd period
LA – 0:53 – EV – 26 S. Voynov (4) – 22 T. Lewis (2)
LA – 19:28 –EV–EN – 77 J. Carter (5) – 10 M. Richards (8)
Turning point: The pressure by the Kings in that second period. Despite not scoring on the man advantage, they carried the play and eventually broke the scoreless tie with the goal by Kopitar.
Contenders and Pretenders
Contenders:
Jonathan Quick – Wasn't really tested by the Sharks but he still made all the saves and had another solid night in the net.
Dustin Brown – for dishing off a game-high seven hits. He gets knocked down on a short-handed chance and still gets a shot off.
Antti Niemi – made countless saves to keep the Sharks in the game. The two goals allowed weren't his fault and he nearly matched Quick with his performance in the net.
Pretenders:
T.J. Galliardi – His role is to try and annoy the opposition but his blatantly stupid cross check into Quick for goalie interference at the end of the second period was just inexcusable. He gifted the Kings with an easy power play opportunity. Luckily for him the Kings didn't score on special teams but you can't commit stupid penalties like that, especially when the back referee is about 15 feet away from you.
Sharks 3rd and 4th lines and power play – I suppose to some degree the entire Sharks team minus Niemi could be on the pretenders' list. You're never going to have your top stars able to light the lamp all the time. When that happens, other players need to step up and nobody showed up tonight for Team Teal. When the Sharks were on the man advantage, not much happened. Three shots on three power play opportunities. Overall the Sharks had very few quality scoring chances.
Matt Irwin – knocks Niemi's stick away from him skating by inadvertently and ends up helping the Kings in the process as LA scores its first goal by Kopitar, moments later.
Dan Boyle – Late in the third period, he couldn't keep the puck in the zone with Niemi on the bench as the Sharks desperately tried to get on the scoreboard. Mike Richards fights off Boyle, gets the puck to Jeff Carter for the easy empty netter adding insult to injury.
NBC Sports Network – Probably the only bad thing about watching the playoffs is the network TV coverage. Unlike the regular season, local announcers know the players and there are habits like TV replays you can expect at certain times. You just don't get that from NBC Sports Network, their coverage is vague and boring. Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda are far superior announcers, same for the LA Kings with Hall of Famer Bob Miller and Jim Fox. I wish they had CBC or TSN in the States, their coverage is top notch.
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