Quick helps Los Angeles Kings beat San Jose Sharks 3-1: NHL Play-off Recap
The Kings' Jonathan Quick turned aside 51 shots to register a franchise playoff-record as Los Angeles held off the San Jose Sharks 3-1, in Game 5 of their first-round play-off series on
Saturday night.
“That’s a lot of shots, a lot of saves,” Kings defenseman Matt Greene said of Quick. “He played huge for us. He’s been doing it all year for us. It’s not a one-time thing.”
Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds each scored a goal and an assist, while Dustin Penner also lit the lamp for Los Angeles, which have dropped two consecutive games at home.
The Kings' Head Coach, Terry Murray, said of Quick, "We needed him to play like this tonight. We knew they were going to come out with energy and emotion and we needed him to win this
game. He's the reason why we're still alive in this series."
To keep the series alive, the Kings will have to win Game 6 on Monday night in Los Angeles.
Patrick Marleau tallied the lone goal for San Jose. Antti Niemi was benched after allowing one goal on four shots for the Sharks. He was then replaced by Antero Niittymaki, who saved 18
shots the rest of the way.
"We would have liked to finish it off tonight," said Marleau. "But we will talk about it tomorrow, figure out what we did wrong and come back for the next one better prepared."
Los Angeles dominated the play with three goals in a span of six minutes in the opening frame.
The first goal occurred in the fourth minute of the first period when Rob Scuderi fired a point shot on net from the left point that was deflected by Clifford and then off Simmonds into
the net to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.
The Kings doubled their advantage in less than four minutes later. The goal came on a 2-on-1 break when Clifford whacked in a rebound off a shot from Simmonds to make it 2-0.
Quick’s best save came when Ryane Clowe middled a pass to Dany Heatley on a 3-on-2 advantage. Quick then helped kill of the Sharks’ second power-play of the night late in the second period
to maintain the 2-0 advantage heading into the final period.
Penner capped the burst less than two minutes later when he unleashed a wrist-shot from the high slot that beat the Sharks' net-minder to make it 3-0 for the Kings.
San Jose cut its deficit to 3-1 in the sixth minute of the middle frame when Marleau blasted a quick shot from the left side into the net.
Quick then did not give up any other goal to secure the victory for the Kings. He was strong between the pipes, turning away 14 shots in the second stanza and 18 shots in the final period.
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