Kings in battle with division rivals San Jose
The NHL Western Conference semifinals best of seven series between the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks will continue with game four tonight in San Jose with the Kings leading 2-1.
Los Angeles won games 1 and 2 at home thanks to Jonathan Quick their goalie and some timely scores on offense.
However, the Kings have not had the scoring production out of Anze Kopitar’s line.
Last season during the Kings magical run that earned them the Stanley Cup as NHL Champions, Justin Williams, part of Kopitar’s line, had 4 goals and 11 assists in the 20 playoff games.
However, fast forward to this season and Williams, Kopitar and their line mate Dustin Brown have combined to score one goal and no assists in the current series.
Williams said his line has to get involved more offensively. Williams has been banged up in the series and did not play any of the final five minutes in their game 2 victory. He also was hit hard by Brad Stuart during Game 3.
Overall, the Kings seem to think they have made things difficult for Antti Niemi, the goaltender for the Sharks, but that has not amounted to many goals being scored.
The Kings have to play better on the road. During the postseason, the Kings are just 1-3 on the road. The team’s home record is good, but they know they cannot just rest and be satisfied with a good record on their home ice.
San Jose has played the better hockey over most of the first three games, but the Kings seem to get all the breaks. The Sharks have outshot the Kings by a margin of 106-78 and the Kings have yielded a large amount of time in the offense zone of the Sharks.
The Sharks needed overtime to win game 3, but game 4 will be completely new. Darryl Sutter the Kings coach, said in the playoff there is no momentum, unless one team is much more talented than the other.
With very little difference between the two teams, this series will most likely go the full seven games.
Los Angeles needed six games to dispose of St. Louis in the first round, but this matchup is tougher due to it being against a rival from the same division, with very little unknown between the two teams.
The Kings could get Kyle Clifford back in the lineup for game 4 on Tuesday. On Monday, Clifford worked out on the ice with the team’s fourth line.
Clifford has not played since May 8 and has had an undisclosed injury. Sources said he was cleared on Sunday for contact.
The hardnosed King had a great postseason last year with three goals and a pair of assists on the team’s fourth line against the Sharks.
