Los Angeles Kings play host to San Jose Sharks
The third game of the quarterfinal between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings will be played at Madison Square Garden on April 19, 2011.
The two teams are level 1-1 in their series with Sharks winning the first game 3-2 in overtime, while the Kings won the second game with a 4-0 shutout performance. The Sharks will be looking to get back on the winning track and win games on away ice.
There was a lot concern for the Kings in the department of offence, as they had their star player Anze Kopitar injured on the final day of the regular season. With Justin Williams also missing due to injury the Kings were expected to be given a tough time.
However, they have done pretty well in the two games so far. The first game saw them coming close to winning while the second game saw Jonathan Quick showing his brilliance in defence and not allowing any goals. While Drew Doughty scored two goals and ended
with two assists to complete a thrashing Kings performance on away ice.
The Sharks were the stronger of the two teams going into the tie, as they had put on a dominating performance in the regular season.
However, the offensive combination has not clicked yet. The first game was won by them in overtime while they lost the second. They face the problem of not being able to utilize the power-plays that will surely hurt them in future runnings in the postseason.
"I think it's a snowballing effect", forward Joe Pavelski said. "We didn't establish the momentum that our power play can create for us and then we come back and we have guys (try to) do it on their own. Not because they're selfish or anything like that,
but because we're trying to make it better. We forgot just how much we need each other and how good we are together”.
The Kings, on the other hand, continued to face problems, as another one of the offensive weapons, Jarret Stoll, faced a suspension after he hit Sharks Ian White in game one.
However, the Kings continued to strive forward and won the game in emphatic style.
Antti Niemi, goalie of the Sharks had absolutely no answer to the Kings offence that put the puck past him on four occasions. Johnson and Doughty were the providers of the first three goals with Kyle Clifford bagging the fourth.
"We know what kind of character we have in this locker room", said Quick, who stopped 34 shots for his first playoff shutout and the sixth in franchise history.
"With a couple guys out, we've still got to do the same thing, even if they're in the line up. That's when our team plays best, is when we play from our system, strong defensively, and then we get our chances from there”.
The Kings are in good shape ahead of the game but keeping this in mind that the Sharks have been brilliant while playing on the road means that they can’t be counted out as yet.
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