The LA Kings are fighting for their playoff lives at Staples Center in Game 6 vs the San Jose Sharks – but is it possible to come back from 3 games down?
(For Part 1, click here)
Game 5 belonged to the LA Kings from the beginning. Scoring three goals in the first 20:34 of the game, the Kings make the Sharks look befuddled by the Kings’ puck-handling and well-timed hits. The Sharks clearly don’t have the same respect and confidence in Antti Niemi that the Kings have for Jonathan Quick. While Quick was allowed to melt under the heat of five goals in game one before relinquishing the net to backup Martin Jones, Niemi was yanked in game 5 after the 3-goal onslaught delivered by LA.
I have to shower some love on Quick. I was yelling for Darryl Sutter’s head after he let a 3-2 game two deficit turn into a 7-2 shellacking. I was sure he would turn to Jones, if for nothing else than to allow Quick to hide from the scrutiny of fans and media. Quick has the experience and resolve to stay the course and allow his routine to shake out the wrinkles. He looked superb in games four and five, and truthfully game three is on the team for mishandling the puck in the latter parts of period three and overtime. The Kings seemed to be on a power play in OT they were so aggressive – just to have the first real puck possession by the Sharks lead to the game winner.
My prediction for Game 6 is simple: I think the Kings and Sharks play an excruciatingly close game and we see some overtime hockey. Stalock has skills, he proved that when his late season play began the controversy about who should start for the playoff bound Sharks. Quick is going to have to be on-point tonight – like “Winter is coming,” ice in is veins type focus. The Sharks have shown they are elusive and damn near unbeatable when they score first and fast. The Kings have won both games when they have held the Sharks virtually scoreless in the first – James Sheppard scored in game four with :08 left in the first. Kopitar and Gaborik are going to be brutal on scoring chances tonight. Drew Doughty and Slava Voynov need to be ferocious over the middle. If a Shark player lowers his head he’ll be raising it in the hospital.
Home ice is home ice. The Kings’ fans will be ravenous. The noise will be deafening. Let’s just hope this isn’t the last time we see frozen water in Staples this season.
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