The San Jose Sharks smelled blood at the Staples Center on Thursday, so they took a bite out of the Los Angeles Kings by winning Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
The Sharks have once again shown great resolve on the road, and will look to make it two-in-a-row this Saturday against their Pacific Division rivals. Can the Kings get over their sloppy play from Game 1 and even the series before it gets totally out of hand, though? Let’s find out more about the next heated showdown below.
And for more NHL postseason coverage for this Saturday, head on over to our previews for Flyers vs. Capitals and Rangers vs. Penguins right after this.
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San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings Game 1 Preview
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
When: Saturday, April 16, 10:30 PM ET
Line: San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings – view all NHL lines
TV Broadcast: CNBC
Betting on the San Jose Sharks
San Jose squandered a 3-0 first round series lead to the Kings in 2014, but it didn’t fail to lose its lead from Joe Pavelski’s stunning go-ahead goal less than 20 seconds into the final period of Thursday’s match. Pavelski, the Sharks’ leading goal-scorer for the season, found the back of the net twice in Game 1, with Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl each scoring a goal as well.
The Sharks really appeared more determined to win this first game, and their aggressiveness showed on the stats sheet as well. Los Angeles committed 20 giveaways to San Jose’s eight, and the Sharks also won five more face-offs than the Kings to take great command of the puck for most of the contest.
Even better is that former Los Angeles goalie Martin Jones had a solid playoff debut for San Jose. Although he did give up three goals to the Kings, Jones still had a better showing than his former teammate and surrogate mentor in Jonathan Quick that night. However, three goals allowed is still rather rather discomforting, so Jones should’ve learned a lot from his first-career playoff victory to give him more confidence for an even better showing in Game 2.
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Betting on the Los Angeles Kings
Exactly how many times must the Los Angeles Kings put up with the pesky Sharks in the postseason?
The former Stanley Cup champs have been in this familiar situation before – falling behind in a playoff series to San Jose – and they know how to dig themselves of out this predicament, yet they have to be aware that this Peter DeBoer Sharks are an animal of a different kind this season.
Jonathan Quick was totally flustered by San Jose’s blitz, uncharacteristically surrendering four goals (one via power play) on Thursday. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner got little help from his team’s defense against the hard-pressing boys from the Bay Area, yet perhaps L.A. may have had another plan in mind that evening in hopes of containing San Jose’s barrage with Quick having a bad game.
The Kings actually had more shots on goal than the Sharks (24-23), meaning that they are indeed capable of going toe-to-toe in a shootout. They even got a swift and pretty shorthanded goal from center Trevor Lewis, so it seems that countering San Jose’s power play prowess with their own aggression on penalty kill situations may be the way to go after all.
Then again, maybe Quick was really just having a rare off-night. Once he gets his act together in Game 2 this Saturday and the likes of stars Anze Kopitar and Milan Lucic also step up offensively, the Kings should be able to secure the victory and prevent a deja vu of the 2014 playoff series versus San Jose from happening.
Writer’s Prediction
The Sharks with another road victory, 3-2, to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.
