In importance, it’s second to none

Perhaps overlooked in the madness of last night’s third period was the fact that the Kings played an excellent second period. It started poorly, with San Jose’s power-play goal, but by the end, the Kings held a 2-1 lead and had outshot the Sharks 14-4. Naturally, the importance of a good start and a good finish are often stressed, but what about the middle. In their last 13 games, the Kings have a 5-0-0 record when they outscore teams in the second period. They have an 0-2-0 record when they are outscored in the second period and a 3-1-2 record when the second-period scoring is even. Perhaps that only stresses the obvious, that every period is important. Regardless, Terry Murray talked today about last night’s second period, and the strong Kings forecheck that was credited with much of the success.

MURRAY: “The credit goes right to those guys. They had great reads. Our forecheck, when executed right, allows all three (forwards) to come with speed. Now there’s a read that you have to make, to maintain your speed and recover. I think, when I looked at the game last night and i reviewed it this morning, the speed was there. The reads off each other were spot-on a whole bunch of times. It was really good.”