Somewhat predictably, after the seven-goal second period, the third period was scoreless. Shots on goal were 9-5 in favor of the Sharks in the third period and 34-22 in favor of the Sharks in regulation.

At the end of a wild, seven-goal second period, the Sharks scored twice in the final 1:25 to tie the game 5-5. First, the Sharks made it a one-goal game when cycled and controlled the puck until they finally scored with 1:25 remaining in the second period to narrow the Kings’ lead to 5-4. Quick [...]

The Sharks scored their third consecutive goal to make it a 4-3 game, but the Kings answered 15 seconds later. First, in a 4-on-4 situation, Ian White held the puck in the left side of the Kings’ zone. Logan Couture got free from Kings defenseman Jack Johnson, took a cross-ice pass from White and beat [...]

The Sharks pulled back within two with a power-play goal 6:53 into the second period. Ryane Clowe carried the puck out from behind the net and attempted a pass through the crease, but the puck deflected off Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell and past Quick to cut the Kings’ lead to 4-2. Jason Demers also picked [...]

San Jose got on the scoreboard when Patrick Marleau scored 3:08 into the second period. Dan Boyle held the puck at the Kings’ blue line and looked to shoot, then fed a perfect pass down low to Marleau, who went to the side of the net and deflected the puck past Quick. Joe Thornton also [...]

The Kings continued their scoring at the start of the second period, as Brad Richardson scored 44 seconds in to chase Antti Niemi from the game. Niemi lost his stick and the Sharks lost the puck behind their net. Finally, Richardson controlled the puck in the high slot and beat Niemi with a wrist shot [...]

The Kings took a 3-0 lead on Michal Handzus’ goal with 1:38 remaining in the first period. The Kings won the puck in the neutral zone, as Dustin Brown pushed it ahead to Dustin Penner. Penner carried it deep, then dropped a pass for Handzus, whose one-timer from the right side beat Niemi. The Kings [...]

The Kings scored two goals in the game’s first three minutes, on their first two shots on goal. First, at the 2:26 mark of the period, Willie Mitchell jumped into the play as the Kings crossed the San Jose blue line. Mitchell took a pass from Trevor Lewis and fired a wrist shot from the [...]

For your easy-listening pleasure, live from Staples Center it’s Game 3 of the first-round series between the Kings and San Jose Sharks. Ian White, who missed Game 2 after the Game 1 hit from Jarret Stoll, is expected to return tonight and is expected — but not certain — that Justin Braun will be out [...]

An earlier post addressed home-ice advantage, and how much of an advantage it really is. From a coach’s perspective, there is one clear advantage. Home coaches are allowed the final change, meaning that, pre-faceoff, the opposing team sends out its five players before the home team. That can allow the home coach to get matchups [...]

For some additional pregame interviews, check out Daryl Evans’ video interviews with Ryan Smyth, Alexei Ponikarovsky and special guest Anze Kopitar…

Home-ice advantage? OK, if you say so. Heading into tonight, there have been 23 playoff games and the home team has an 11-12 record. Last night, there were four games, and Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh and Detroit all recorded road victories, and that did not escape the attention of Terry Murray. Granted, the higher-seeded team won [...]

Davis Gaines, and not Kenny G, is expected to perform the national anthem tonight at Staples Center as the Kings play their first playoff home game. Here’s what Terry Murray said he expects from the home crowd tonight… MURRAY: “I’m expecting it to be very revved-up, very loud, noisy, a lot of energy, lots of [...]

No surprises or changes coming out of today’s morning skate, as the Kings will go back to their fourth-line look of Alexei Ponikarovsky, Trevor Lewis and Kevin Westgarth. San Jose’s Ian White, who missed Game 2 after the hit from Jarret Stoll, is expected to return tonight. More notes and quotes to come…

The Kings will be on the ice for their morning skate in El Segundo at 10 a.m. in advance of tonight’s home game. One San Jose columnist, it seems, is looking forward to some quiet time tonight. Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News, in his column this morning, referred to a Kings game [...]

The Kings have had a couple days to reflect positively on Game 2, but a poor showing in Game 3 will negate those good feelings, so Terry Murray did his best to look ahead, not behind, today. The San Jose Sharks figure to be ready, having had two full days to reflect on their admittedly [...]

Who would have guessed that, through two games, the Kings would be plus-3 on the power play against San Jose? The Kings are 3-for-9 on the power play while the Sharks are 0-for-7. Coming into the series, the special-teams matchup figured to be an interesting one, because it matched strength vs. strength and weakness vs. [...]

For some additional thoughts from Kings players, after practice today, here are some video interviews with Rob Scuderi, Michal Handzus and Kevin Westgarth…

The Kings have signed forward prospects Tyler Toffoli and Jordan Weal to standard three-year, entry-level contracts. Both players are currently with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs under amateur-tryout agreements, so this does not change their short-term status. This season, Toffoli (a second-round pick of the Kings last year) led the Ontario Hockey League with 57 goals [...]

The regular-season offensive numbers suggested a clear mismatch. San Jose’s top three centers each reached the 20-goal and 55-point plateaus this season, as Joe Thornton had 21 goals and 49 assists, Logan Couture had 32 goals and 24 assists and Joe Pavelski had 20 goals and 46. The Kings, minus Anze Kopitar, lined up with [...]