Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks Game Three Preview

April 17, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (23) shoots the puck against San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle (22, center) and defenseman Scott Hannan (27) during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

"Sometimes you have a tough loss like last night and you have to park it. You have to move on. The regular season is a long year you move on from tough losses, playoffs, no different. Playoffs, there is more at stake obviously. You have to find a way to regroup. That’s our mindset right now. We’re regrouping today."

That was Jarret Stoll in an interview with Jon Rosen over at LAKingsInsider.com. He pretty much said what any fan would want to hear. Reiterating that the Los Angeles Kings are not rattle by their two blow out loses to the San Jose Sharks and that they have put games one and two behind them as they regroup. That is all that can be done, the Kings need to put the past behind them and start to dig themselves out of this 0-2 hole they’ve put themselves in.

The Kings’ first chance to try to gain a grip on this series comes tonight when they host the Sharks for game three. It is the first home game of the series for the Kings and a prime opportunity to close the gap to one game.

For the Kings to have any chance of getting back in this series they have to get back to Kings hockey and play a tight hard-hitting, defensive minded game and shut the Sharks down. Through two games the Kings have been sloppy on the defensive side of the puck, allowing odd man rushes, not clearing out the front of the net and getting beat physically.

Outside of the play from the back-end the Kings need more from their offense. I know five goals in two games may seem like a good thing for the Kings but when Trevor Lewis is leading the team in goals you may have a problem. Players like Mike Richards and Anze Kopitar, who were held two zero shots in game two, and Dustin Brown and Marian Gaborik, who got only one shot each, need to be more of a factor from here on out.

The Sharks come into tonight’s game having scored 13-goals through two games played. The Sharks scored the same amount of goals against the Kings during the regular season, but it took them five-games to get to that total. Games one and two were also the only time this season the Sharks have beaten the Kings by anything larger than a one-goal margin.

So saying the outcomes of games one and two was uncharacteristic is an understatement. The Kings need to get back to the basics for tonight’s game. If they don’t, going down 0-3 in the series could all but lock up some early tee times for the Kings in the coming weeks.

Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. local time.