Los Angeles opened the matchup by dropping a pair of one-goal decisions at home and were in danger of needing its second rally from an 0-3 deficit versus San Jose in three years before Tanner Pearson scored 3:47 into overtime Monday to keep the club from being pushed to the brink of elimination.
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Blocked shots: The Kings were credited with 27 blocked shots to the Sharks’ 18 in Game 3, the first time in the series that L.A. got the upper hand on San Jose in this department.
Somehow, he managed to escape Kopitar and wheeled with the puck around the opposite side of the crease to whip it toward Kings’ goalie Jonathan Quick.
Although Games 1 and 2 were both one goal games, the Kings had been noticeably outplayed for much of the first two games and San Jose was flying high as the series moved to Northern California for Game 3.
Joe Pavelski has been a force for San Jose through its first three games, notching three goals.
After Anze Kopitar scored a power-play goal midway through the first period, the Sharks and Kings remained tied 1-1 as the game went to overtime. They will also need the continued steadiness of Martin Jones, who has stopped the shots he should be stopping through the first three games of this series.
However, Game 3 in San Jose was close as the Kings prevailed in overtime.
Philadelphia Flyers 1 Washington Capitals 4 (Capitals lead 2-0): Braden Holtby was fantastic with 41 saves and the Capitals were terrific on the Power Play with goals from John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin.
“We’re confident. I mean, we’re up 2-1 in the series”.
“You want to win every game”, he said, properly.
The Sharks found themselves in penalty trouble again later in the first period, as Nick Spaling was sent off for tripping Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi. “I like where we’re at, and we’ve got all those options available, but I’m not ready to pull the trigger on any of that stuff yet”.
One would think that this game was all about offense because they scored three goals yet it was all because of the teams focus on defense on why they won this game. It was a kind of statement we’ve been waiting for from Kopitar given the dominance of the Joe Thornton line early in this series.
Combined with all the regular season games they play as division opponents, these two teams know each other as well as any two teams in the National Hockey League.
Sharks coach Peter DeBoer wasn’t fooled. The best opportunities came on the power play, with Los Angeles generating numerous chances on one opportunity late in the second period without scoring. Team teal will continue to get plenty of looks and they must bear down on their chances when they present themselves, especially on home ice where it seems the energy in the building drops when they can’t get anything going. It also cemented one of the Sharks’ weaknesses, highlighting the fourth lines’ propensity for poor play and needless penalties. The Los Angeles roster is still largely populated by men who have won two Stanley Cups. Fatigue played a role in the Sharks’ home record, as they were 1-8-1 this season in their first game back after a trip of at least two games. It wasn’t the start they wanted, but they’ve climbed out of deeper holes.
“In the first two games I don’t think we played as well as we would have liked”.
In the playoffs, generally one team punches and then the other team adjusts to counterpunch after a loss.
For more on the Sharks, see the Working the Corners blog at.
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty added, “That was a good game. We didn’t get it done on special teams, but Wednesday will come and we’ll have another good game”.
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, Calif. “It paid off for us on the winning goal last game”.
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After all, great coaches do know whats best for the team. The Sharks scored on their second shot in Game 1, an eventual 4-3 victory.
