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Missed opportunities gift the
Kings Game 3
0-for-5 on the PP one of many missed
chances
The Sharks played like world beaters for 30 seconds
on Monday night. Then they came back to earth and played mediocre hockey for
the better part of an hour and allowed the Los Angeles Kings to crawl back in
their Western Conference Quarter Final series after a series of missed
opportunities. Tanner Pearson scored an overtime goal at SAP Center to help the
Kings cut the Sharks series lead to 2-1.
The chances were plenty, but
San Jose did everything in their power to shoot themselves in the foot. As the
series shifted to San Jose, the Sharks had a chance to put a stranglehold on
the series with a win. Instead, they did the little things to tend to lead to
losses.
From the opening faceoff, it looked as if the Sharks were
going to maul the Kings. San Jose grabbed that faceoff puck, skated up ice and
deposited the fist shot on goal after Joe Thornton circled around the Kings net
then snapped a shot from the slot that beat Jonathan Quick for his 1st goal of
the playoffs.
The SAP Center crowd erupted into a frenzy. They had the
Kings right were they wanted them. They had the lead, the momentum, and home
ice advantage.
Except, home ice has been anything but advantageous for
the Sharks. The simple truth is, the Sharks didn't do the little things enough
at home during the regular season, and they didn't do the little things on
Monday night.
The ice was tilted in San Jose's favor, with the Sharks
pinning the Kings in their own zone with a furious rush following Thornton's
goal. A Brayden McNabb hooking penalty at the 5:33 mark setup what should have
been a golden opportunity to push the lead. Instead, the Shark fell back into
their typical perimeter approach on the power play, and let the opportunity
slip through their fingers.
San Jose continued to push the pace, but a
Tommy Wingels hooking penalty put the on the defensive for the first time of
the night. The fact that Wingels took a lazy stick infraction was baffling at
that moment in the game. The Sharks were buzzing, and a lazy penalty snuffed it
all out.
The Kings cashed in on the ensuing power play when Anze
Kopitar slammed home a Milan Lucic feed from the Sharks doorstep.
Just
like that, momentum snuffed out. San Jose elected to continue their pursuit of
goals from long distance, but like relationships, long distance doesn't work.
The Sharks insisted on keeping their noses clean by staying as far away from
the front of the Kings crease as possible. To nobody's surprise, the goals
never came.
Los Angeles did a great job of trying to give the game
away by handing the Sharks five power plays throughout the game. The special
teams play was simply lacking. They rarely tested Quick while on the man
advantage, squandering the chances that were served up on a golden platter.
The Kings took two big penalties in the 3rd period, which should have
come with a gift receipt because they didn't use the gift.
All of
those misses came back to haunt the Sharks in the extra period. Kings captain
Dustin Brown started the nightmare scenario for San Jose by laying the body on
Joonas Donskoi right in front of the Los Angeles bench. By knocking Donskoi off
the puck, it allowed Pearson to grab it and race in on net. Defenseman Brendan
DIllon elected to try and retaliate on Brown, rather than play defense.
That decision was the wrong one, as Pearson skated in on net 2-on-1.
The Kings forward snapped a shot from 25-feet out, beating Jones to eh low
glove side. It was a shot that Jones probably should have had, but then again,
the Sharks should have been leading 3-1 at that point.
Cash in on
those 3rd period chances, and there's no overtime to begin with.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| LA |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Thornton 1 (Hertl), 0:30. 2, LA, Kopitar 1 (Lucic, Muzzin), 8:10, (pp). |
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| Overtime - 3, LA,
Pearson 1 (Brown, Lecavalier), 3:47. |
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| 1st period - McNabb, L A
(hooking), 5:33; Wingels, SJ (hooking), 7:50; Spaling, SJ (tripping),
11:50. |
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| 2nd period - Lewis, LA
(interference), 2:57; Gaborik, LA (high sticking), 13:01; Tierney, SJ (delay of
game - face off violation), 18:36. |
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| 3rd period - Lucic, LA
(slashing), 9:40; Pearson, LA (delay of game - puck over glass), 14:04; Brown,
LA (roughing), 19:06; Hertl, SJ (roughing), 19:06. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| LA - Quick |
30 |
29 |
| SJ - Jones |
24 |
22 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| LA |
13 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
24 |
| SJ |
7 |
11 |
9 |
3 |
30 |
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| Referees:
O'Halloran, Walsh. Linesmen: Cherrey, Sharrers. |
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