Game 4 Preview: San Jose at Los Angeles

(3) Los Angeles Kings (0-3) vs (2) San Jose Sharks (3-0)
Thursday, April 24, 2014, 7:30 p.m. PT
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Referees: Francis Charron #6, Paul Devorski #10
Linesmen: Steve Barton #59, Pierre Racicot #65
Fox Sports West, NBCSN, CBC, KEIB 1150 AM

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick
2013-14 Playoffs: 3 GP (3 GS) / 0-3 record / 5.78 GAA / .852 Sv% / 0 SHO
Career, Playoffs: 53 (53) / 29-24 / 2.22 / .924 / 7
Versus San Jose, Playoffs: 16 (16) / 6-10 / 2.86 / .915 / 3
2013-14 Playoffs, Home: 1 (1) / 0-1 / 3.62 / .900 / 0

San Jose Projected Starting Goaltender – Antti Niemi
2013-14 Playoffs: 3 GP (3 GS) / 3-0 record / 2.58 GAA / .912 Sv% / 0 SHO
Career, Playoffs: 59 (59) / 35-23 / 2.64 / .909 / 2
Versus Los Angeles, Playoffs: 16 (16) / 10-6 / 2.71 / .900 / 0
2013-14 Playoffs, Away: 1 (1) / 1-0 / 2.71 / .903 / 0

2013-14 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Jeff Carter (1-2=3), Drew Doughty (0-3=3), Anze Kopitar (0-3=3)
Goals: Jake Muzzin 21-0=2), Trevor Lewis (2-0=2)
Assists: Drew Doughty (0-3=3), Anze Kopitar (0-3=3)
Plus/Minus: Jake Muzin (+2; 2-0=2)
Penalty Minutes: Kyle Clifford (16; 0-0=0)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (25:51; 0-3=3)

2013-14 San Jose Leaders
Total Points: Patrick Marleau (3-2=5), Joe Pavelski (1-4=5)
Goals: Patrick Marleau (3-2=5)
Assists: Joe Pavelski (1-4=5)
Plus/Minus: Justin Braun (+6; 1-0=1)
Penalty Minutes: Mike Brown (14; 1-1=2)
Time On Ice: Dan Boyle (21:41; 0-3=3)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 10 / 2.67; SJS – 1 / 5.67
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 16 / 5.67; SJS –7 / 2.67
Power Play: LAK – t-3 / 25.0%; SJS – 5 / 23.1%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 12 / 76.9%; SJS – t-13 / 75.0%
Shots/Game: LAK – 9 / 30.3; SJS – 1 / 37.7
Shots Against/Game: LAK – 16 / 37.7; SJS – 8 / 30.3
Faceoffs: LAK – 6 / 52.0%; SJS – 11 / 48.0%
Save Percentage: LAK – 16 / .850; SJS – 7 / .912

Los Angeles Projected Lines

Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams
Kyle Clifford – Mike Richards – Trevor Lewis

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Slava Voynov
Willie Mitchell – Alec Martinez

Jonathan Quick
Martin Jones

Level of confidence in projected lines: B+. These were the lines that were used at the morning skate and discussed to some extent by Darryl Sutter, and Matt Greene, Colin Fraser and Jordan Nolan remained on the ice for extra work. It is, of course, the playoffs, and changes are always possible. Keep in mind that lines evolve over the course of the game as teams make adjustments.

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 6-10 all-time against San Jose in the playoffs, a mark that includes a home record of 4-4. The Kings are 94-129 all-time in the playoffs and 54-52 at home. … Three teams in NHL history have rallied to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games: The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs (over Detroit in the Stanley Cup Final), the 1975 New York Islanders (over Pittsburgh in an NHL quarterfinal) and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers (over Boston in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals). Mike Richards and Jeff Carter played on the 2010 Flyers, though Carter was injured and did not participate in the series. … The Kings are 10-27 all-time in Game 4s and 15-20 all-time when facing elimination. … This is the eighth time in franchise history that Los Angeles trailed a playoff series three-nothing. The last time was against Detroit in the 2000 Western Conference quarterfinals. The Red Wings finished the sweep with a 3-0 win at Staples Center on April 19, 2000. … The Kings have held the lead for 36:57 of the series (19.9%), the Sharks have held the lead for 103:01 of the series (55.3%), and the game has been tied for 46:22 (24.8). … Including playoffs, home teams are 22-2-1 in the last 25 games between the Kings and Sharks. … Jeff Carter has a seven-game playoff point streak (2-6=8). … Anze Kopitar has assists in all three games in the series (0-3=3) and a four-game playoff point streak (1-4=5). … Jonathan Quick is 1-7 in his last eight playoff games. … The teams have combined for 312 hits in the series.

San Jose Projected Lines

Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Brent Burns
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Matt Nieto
James Sheppard – Joe Pavelski – Tommy Wingels
Raffi Torres – Andrew Desjardins – Mike Brown

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jason Demers
Scott Hannan – Dan Boyle
Brad Stuart – Justin Braun

Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock

Notes and milestones: Of the 18 skaters San Jose has used in the series, only Brad Stuart has failed to record a point. … All San Jose defensemen have averaged between 17:06 and 21:41 per game. … Justin Braun leads all players with a plus-six rating in the postseason. … Among San Jose skaters, Patrick Marleau (3-2=5), Joe Thornton (2-1=3) and Tommy Wingels (0-3=3) have recorded points in each game. … With an assist in Game 3, Joe Thornton reached 100 career postseason points (24-76=100) in his 128th career playoff game.