Having won the first two games of this series on home ice, the Los Angeles Kings are riding high as they continue their series with the San Jose Sharks. But before they get too ahead of themselves, they need to focus on the task at hand as once a team returns to home ice, they have the momentum to erase a 2-0 series deficit and as proof, the Kings don’t need to look any further than their opening-round series against the St. Louis Blues.

After dropping the first two games of said series in St. Louis, the defending champs looked to be headed for an early playoff exit. But the team and their fans didn’t give in just yet. After all, they had yet to play on home ice – and when they did, they took over the series, winning four straight to eliminate the Blues.

With that, the Kings know they need to keep pressing against a resilient Sharks team as they enter Game 3 at the Shark Tank tonight with hopes of taking a stranglehold in this Western Semi Final.

Mar 14, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) blocks a shot by Los Angeles Kings right wing Justin Williams (14) during the first period at the HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

In Game 1, they won with top-notch goaltending and in Game 2, they won with clutch resiliency. So what the Kings have in store for Game 3 in enemy territory has yet to be seen but with the resiliency the Sharks showed in Game 2, they simply won’t be content to roll over and let Los Angeles dominate should they jump out to another quick start.

While San Jose does need to contain Jeff Carter and Slava Voynov, they now have other weapons to focus on as Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis all joined in on the fun by each scoring critical goals last game Even Tyler Toffoli, who assisted on the winner last game, warrants a little extra attention himself from the opposition. Of course, this isn’t to say that the responsibility of shutting down the opposition falls solely on the shoulders of the Sharks.

Like usual, the Kings need to find a way to slow Patrick Marleau who scored last game adding to his dominance against the silver-and-black. The same can be said for Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski who, despite having yet to score this series, have both added pressure on the Kings defense to score a goal. Speaking realistically, logic would suggest that players of their calibre can only go so long without breaking out in a big way.

In addition, the Kings need to spend a little more time covering the San Jose defense which scored twice in Game 2 – courtesy of Brad Stuart and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic.

And of course, should the Kings hope to make it seven-straight wins this postseason, they will need to continue what they’re doing against Antti Niemi who despite losing both games thus far, has been very good stopping 27 shots last game – albeit not quite as effective as his counterpart.

The Los Angeles Kings may lead this series but they will enter a very hostile environment as San Jose’s HP Pavilion will be rocking determined to help the home team get back into this Western Semi Final.

The action starts at 6pm PST (9pm EST). It should be a wild one.

Enjoy the game!

LOS ANGELES – After jumping out 2-0 in Game 2, it looked as though the Los Angeles Kings had picked up right where they left off. But just when it seemed that way, the San Jose Sharks began showing signs of life scoring three unanswered goals ultimately entering the final minutes of regulations in prime position to tie the series. And then…

The Staples Faithful didn’t have to wait long for their team to get started as Jeff Carter wristed his fourth of the postseason 3:06 into the game to give Los Angeles the 1-0 lead.

If Kings fans were worried about anything entering Game 2, it was how their team would fare without Jarret Stoll, who was injured in Game 1 after a hit from San Jose’s Raffi Torres – who has since been suspended for the remainder of the series. So, with Stoll out, the Kings reinserted Brad Richardson who hasn’t played since Game 1 of the St. Louisseries. If fans were worried about Richardson having any rust, they soon realized they had no reason to.

May 14, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings players Dustin Brown (23), Mike Richards (10), Drew Doughty (8), Jeff Carter (77) and Anze Kopitar (11) celebrate after a goal in the third period during game two of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the San Jose Sharks at the Staples Center. The Kings defeated the Sharks 4-3 to take a 2-0 series lead. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With Los Angeles on the power play early in the second, it was Richardson who set up Drew Doughty who slapped it past Antti Niemi to put the home team up by a pair.

Just before the halfway mark of the middle frame approach, the Sharks were finally able to solve Jonathan Quick as Patrick Marleau tipped in a Joe Thornton shot to cut the lead in half. But San Jose wasn’t done there as just under five minutes later, it was a former King (Brad Stuart) who slapped his first of the playoffs past Quick to tie the game.

In the third, the Sharks continued pressing and at the 8:56, defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic notched his first of the postseason to put the road team out in front for the first time this series.

It seemed as though the Sharks had found their groove and were on their way to winning. Unfortunately for them, a lack of discipline cost them late.

On a 5-on-3 power play late, the Kings had a golden opportunity to tie – and they took advantage as Dustin Brown backhanded his second of the playoffs behind Niemi to tie the game. This game appeared to be heading into overtime.

But as exciting as playoff hockey is, the Kings weren’t content on waiting until then. While they scored on the man-advantage, the Kings still had a 5-on-4 with Vlasic in the box for shooting the puck over the glass.

Just 22 seconds after Brown tied it up, Trevor Lewis added to the fun as he notched his first of the playoffs to put the Kings out in front for good sending Staples Center into a frenzy. It’s also worth noting that on the goal, Lewis was set up by rookie Tyler Toffoli who notched his first-career playoff point on the goal.

With the win, Jonathan Quick earned his 26th career postseason win which ties him with Kelly Hrudey for the all-time franchise lead. While he did allow a playoff-high three goals, Quick was again reliable making 28 saves en route to the victory.

After being outshot in the first two periods, the Kings came alive in the third outshooting the Sharks 18-7 and while they had to be patient, their heroics paid off as the silver-and-black emphasized the “advantage” in home-ice (and on this night, man-) advantage and now head to San Jose looking to take complete control of this series.

So, after falling in their first two games of the postseason, the Los Angeles Kings have now reeled off six-straight wins heading into the HP Pavilion for Game 3 on Saturday night.