The view from San Jose

There’s no question that the San Jose Sharks are sitting pretty right now. In their franchise history, the Sharks have held a 3-1 series lead seven times, and they have never lost a series. Meanwhile, the Kings have trailed 3-1 in a series 10 times, and won once. That was in the 1989 first round, when the Kings rallied to beat Edmonton in three consecutive games, two of which were at home. So the Sharks put themselves in good position last night and, in one sense off the ice, both teams won. Relatives of Bryan Stow, the man attacked outside Dodger Stadium last month, attended the game. The Sharks paid for the tickets and the Kings treated them to a dinner in Staples Center’s private club. Below is last night’s game story from the San Jose Mercury News and an excellent column from Mark Purdy on the Stow family, followed by some additional quotes from the Sharks’ locker room.

Sharks beat Los Angeles Kings to take 3-1 series lead

Mark Purdy: Sharks provide a brief respite for Bryan Stow’s family

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COACH TODD MCLELLAN
(on the game…) “I think we each scored one on our own net tonight. It’s that time of year where strange plays happen. The more that you get the puck to the net, the better opportunity you have for that strange play going your way.”

(on scoring 12 goals in two games…) “We had to earn them though. They’re a very good hockey club, they play very hard and very well defensively, so we had to earn them. More importantly, it’s two wins. They played obviously very well in Game 2. We had to straighten our game out a little bit. … But we still have to improve. They’re going to come back and play very well. They’ve got a lot of pride and are a very good hockey club.”

(on his team’s playoff experience…) “Over the last times, you see that come out a little more. Poise and composure tonight, coming out for the third period, getting through the second period when they were coming back, that adds up a little bit and maybe that does give you a little bit of an advantage, but again, only if you use it.”

JOE THORNTON
(on trying to finish the series…) “They’re going to fight and they’re going to claw. The close-out games are always the toughest, so we have to really be ready and take this win and enjoy it for tonight but get back to work tomorrow.”

(on beating Jonathan Quick…) “We always want to get traffic in front of him. You never know what can happen with traffic. But he’s an incredible goalie and we definitely have to work for our goals right now.”