Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks Preview; Western Semi Final, Game 2

Previewing the Los Angeles Kings’ 2012-13 season:
West Semi Final, Game 2 vs. San Jose; May 16/13, 7pm PST (10pm EST)

Thanks to the outstanding play of Jonathan Quick in Game 1, the Los Angeles Kings were able to draw first blood in their series with the San Jose Sharks. But if they’re planning on continuing their success and making it six wins in a row in these playoffs, the Kings will need to give Quick a little more support.

While the shots differential in the first two periods wasn’t anything to look down upon, the third period saw the Kings got outshot by a margin of 16-4 which should not happening on a regular basis. Yes, Quick was outstanding but a little more help from his defense might go a long way.

After all, with a San Jose attack that includes Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski and Couture up front in addition to the likes of Dan Boyle and Brent Burns on the back end, shutting this team out is quite the accomplishment and therefore should not be expected in consecutive games. Then again, if the Kings feel they can do such a thing (and there’s no reason to believe they can’t), the silver-and-black will come out even stronger in Game 2with a determination to head north to San Jose up 2-0 in a series that most thought would be a very close battle.

May 14, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Dwight King (74) skates into San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) as he clears the puck in the third period of game one of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Staples Center. King won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

After making 36 saves for his second shutout of this postseason, Jonathan Quick enters Game 2 just one win behind Kelly Hrudey for the most playoff wins by a Kings goaltender in franchise history. So, while the aforementioned may not be a top priority, it does still serve as good incentive to keep on winning.

But if the Sharks were hoping to get back into this series on Thursday night, it may be costly that Raffi Torres decided to make a borderline hit on Jarret Stoll that knocked him out of the game.

Stoll’s status for Game 2 is doubtful while Torres, who met with the NHL disciplinary department on Wednesday, has an uncertain status for Game 2. Of course, while it may seem a bit malevolent, I’m sure a few Kings want Torres in the San Jose lineup for Game 2 as it’s just fueled poured onto the fire. A notoriously dirty player cheapshots once of Los Angeles’s most important players in the playoffs and there is no reason why bad blood shouldn’t be expected for the remainder of the series.

Outside of the crease, the Kings had a few of their assets clicking on all cylinders as Slava Voynov had a goal and an assist while Jeff Carter and Mike Richards were each in on both goals en route to the win.

As clichéd as it sounds, there really is no love lost between these two rivals and on Thursday night, the heated rivalry continues at Staples Center with each team determined to win just as badly as the other.

Enjoy the game!