Are there any common themes to be picked up from the first three Kings-Sharks meetings this season? It wouldn’t appear so, because the games have been so different. On Nov. 15 in San Jose, the Sharks scored three third-period goals and won 6-3. On Dec. 27 in San Jose, the Kings scored four third-period goals and won 4-0. On Jan. 1 at Staples Center, neither team scored in the third period, and San Jose’s second-period goal held up in a 1-0 victory. Five-on-five play figures to be important, because there was only one power-play goal scored in those three games, but beyond that, the games had little in common. Today, I asked Terry Murray if there was anything, in general, that he could draw from the teams’ first three meetings.
MURRAY: “I think, whenever you have both teams on their games, you’re going to have real low-scoring games. I think the indicative game would be that 1-0 game here. With two teams competing and battling, it would be a one-goal game at the end of the day. For us to go up there and win the way we did one night, in a 4-0 win, that’s a close game right to the end. We were going into the third period in a tight situation, and it just happens that you get some breaks.”
As noted earlier, it’s a big game for the Kings and Sharks, at least mentally if nothing else. The Kings could return to the cusp of eighth place in the Western Conference and the Sharks could go into the All-Star break back in the top eight, so there should be plenty of motivation for both teams.
MURRAY: “I’m not going to talk about the standings right now. I think the most important thing, to bring to everyone’s awareness, is just the importance of continuing to play the way we have been, play our game, executing the proper way and finishing it off, before the break, before we get those days to refresh physically and mentally. It will be good for us, but we just want to follow up the games we have been playing.”
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