Here’s my LAKings.com game story for tonight, with stats and video included. Thanks for reading… Kings lose to Sharks 6-3 The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo.

Terry Murray’s postgame thoughts… (on his postgame message to the team…) MURRAY: “That’s in-house.” (on the loss…) MURRAY: “It’s a 0-0 game. Nichol and Doughty get involved. They score two (goals) on a 4-on-4. Up until that point, the game is a pretty good game. We kill off a 5-on-3, we kill off a double-minor. [...]

Jack Johnson’s postgame thoughts… (on what the Kings need to improve…) JOHNSON: “Try to keep them from scoring six goals a game. They’ve scored 12 goals in two games. That’s embarrassing. We have to pack up, get to San Jose and go there to win a hockey game. Our backs are against a wall. They’re a tough team to play, [...]

Willie Mitchell’s postgame thoughts… (on the game…) MITCHELL: “It’s a long year. You play hard. You train hard. You travel together, room together and do all those things. You want success, because you look across the room and you see that the other guy wants success as well. That’s who you play for, is your [...]

Justin Williams’ postgame thoughts… (on the game…) WILLIAMS: “We were one of the best defensive teams in the league this year. This is totally unacceptable, and we’re letting ourselves down. This is crunch time. A lot of work went into this, to get to the playoffs. We don’t want to let it slide away. Just [...]

The Kings have now allowed 12 goals in the last two games, and will face potential elimination in Game 5 on Saturday night in San Jose. A reminder — one that unfortunately has to be given — that blog rules are to be followed regardless of the result of a game. They’re posted prominently. Thanks. [...]

San Jose’s third goal of the third period came with 8:18 remaining. Kyle Wellwood’s shot from the high slot was saved, but Quick couldn’t control the rebound and Torrey Mitchell went to the front of the net and scored from close range to give the Sharks a 6-2 lead. The Kings made it a 6-3 [...]

A strong start to the third period by the Sharks resulted in two early goals. The Sharks got the puck deep in the Kings’ zone, and Patrick Marleau controlled it in the corner. With three Kings keeping an eye on Marleau, Joe Thornton went to the front of the net all alone, took a pass [...]

The Kings rallied for two goals after trailing by three, and outshot the Sharks 17-10 in the second period. In the past two games, the teams have combined for 12 second-period goals.

The Kings made it a 3-2 game with 3:56 remaining in the second period. Justin Williams carried the puck into the San Jose zone, up the left side, and sent a cross-ice pass toward Ryan Smyth, who was tied up with Marc-Eduoard Vlasic as he crashed the net. The puck deflected off Vlasic’s stick and [...]

The Kings got on the scoreboard, and cut the Sharks’ lead to 3-1, with exactly nine minutes remaining in the second period. Ryan Smyth shot from the outer edge of the left faceoff circle and Niemi made the save, but couldn’t control the rebound. Brad Richardson swooped behind the net and knocked in the puck.

With Kings defenseman Matt Greene in the penalty box for a double-minor high-sticking call, the Sharks took a 3-0 lead 9:28 into the second period. Ian White found Logan Couture with space in the slot. Quick saved Couture’s shot, but the rebound stayed near the crease as Ryane Clowe beat Jack Johnson to the front [...]

The Sharks took a 1-0 lead 3:58 into the second period, in a 4-on-4 situation. On a counter-attack, Ryane Clowe threw the puck to the front of the net from the corner. First, it deflected off the skate of Jack Johnson in front and then Alec Martinez, attempting to clear it, instead pushed it into [...]

The goalies stole the show in a scoreless first period, as the Sharks outshot the Kings 13-9. Jonathan Quick made a handful of brilliant saves, including two during a San Jose 5-on-3 advantage, to keep the game 0-0. The Kings also had a brief (13-second) 5-on-3 advantage but did not score.

What turns will the series take in Game 4 tonight? The looks will be familiar, as neither team is expected to make significant changes. The San Jose Sharks will go back to Antti Niemi in goal — Niemi was pulled in the second period of Game 3, after the Kings’ fourth goal — while the [...]

For those who like to look ahead, the Kings announced today that their third-annual “Hockey Fest” will be held on Sept. 11 at Staples Center. Details will be announced during the summer, but the event — like its two predecessors — will include Q&A and autograph sessions with Kings players, coaches, alumni and personalities, along [...]

Which line has been the Kings’ highest-scoring line of the series? That would be Kyle Clifford, Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds, who have combined for seven of the 20 points recorded by Kings forwards through the first three games of the series. In general, that’s not necessarily a good thing for the Kings — in [...]

Every NHL coach has his own philosophy on morning skates. Some coaches view them as critical while others dismiss them. To be certain, a morning skate is not the same as a practice, as a skate is basically a warm-up to get the legs going and the blood flowing. There is very little instruction or [...]

Is this a hockey series or a basketball series? So far, it’s been a series of runs. After the end of Game 1, the Kings scored eight consecutive goals. Then the Sharks went on a 6-1 run to close out Game 3. Now what? The series has had a little bit of everything. There’s been [...]

At the start of this series, the battle in the faceoff circle figured to be a good one, as both the Kings and San Jose Sharks ranked in the top 10 in the regular season in faceoff percentage. The Sharks ranked second, at 53.7 percent, while the Kings ranked 10th, at 51.1 percent. The Kings [...]