Kings and Sharks bring rivalry back to LA for what fans hope is the penultimate game of the best of seven series
The Los Angeles Kings will lace ‘em up against the San Jose Sharks tonight at the Staples Center, trying to accomplish the near-impossible. Only three teams in the history of the National Hockey League have come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win, according to The Puck Report.
Before the series started, fans had to be hoping that snatching a victory in Game 5 at the SAP Center would have meant Game 6 was the swan song for their hated rival upon returning to LA Monday night. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Now, tonight’s game takes on new meaning as the Sharks have announced they are sitting Antti Niemi in favor of Alex Stalock. Niemi started 64 games this season vs. Stalock’s 18. Niemi has been pulled the last two contests. Marian Gaborik sent Niemi to the showers in game four after his goal made it 5-2 Kings. In Game 5, Niemi was yanked immediately following Jeff Carter’s PPG made it 3-nil LA. Stalock’s 57:02 of ice time has all occurred when the Sharks were reeling from the Kings’ offensive explosions. Tonight he has the opportunity to arrive fresh and with the mindset of a starter. I wrote in a previous article that Stalock could be the Sharks’ Ben Scrivens or Martin Jones, and tonight the spotlight is his to prove his potential.
A review of this series shows the Mariana Trench of lows and the Mount Everest of highs for the Kings. LA has to hope the hurdles they have overcome to this point will reveal a fortitude in them that leads to a Freeway Face-Off Lord Stanley style.
The Kings looked destined to be swept after their abysmal 13-5 blasting by the Sharks at the SAP in games one and two. I was ready to throw in the towel after Anze Kopitar & Co. blew many an opportunity in a 4-3 overtime loss at Staples in Game 3.
Then, as if channeling their inner Boston Red Sox comeback phenomenon, the Kings came out with anger and focus in their hearts and minds last Thursday night for Game 4. Never trailing in the game, the Kings turned a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead with two goals in the last four minutes of the second period. Gaborik (3G, 1A, 4P for the series) scored his second goal of the game in the first minute of the third and the rest was up to Jonathan Quick and the hit squad to reel in.
(Continued in Part 2 here)
Copyright 2014 SportSpeak LLC, all rights reserved. For more coverage, follow @SportSpeakLA and @SportSpeakOC on Twitter.
