The Kings are hoping not to experience any deja vu tonight. Last year, their first-round playoff series (and season) ended with a Game 6 home loss to Vancouver, although the circumstances of that game were a bit different. The Kings lost a third-period lead in Game 4 at home, then were blown out in ... Read More

After being at 50 percent or below in the first four games, the Kings won the faceoff battle in Game 5, as they won 31 of 56 draws (55 percent). That's a strong outcome against a San Jose team that ranked second in the league in faceoff percentage in the regular season, and Jarret Stoll deserves muc... Read More

The lack of home success in this Kings-Sharks series -- and throughout the first round of the playoffs, really -- has already been well-documented. In this series, the road team has won four consecutive games. Can the Kings break that streak tonight? Nobody really has a cogent explanation as to why ... Read More

A bit overlooked in the Game 5 analysis was the return of Kings winger Scott Parse, who played his first game since Nov. 15. Parse, now recovered from hip surgery, moved into a high-profile role alongside Michal Handzus and Justin Williams for Game 5 and is expected to remain there tonight. In Game ... Read More

No surprises or changes coming out of this morning's skate. The Kings are expected to go with the same lines and defensive pairings they used in Game 5. More notes and quotes to come...... Read More

Going back to the 52 shots on goal that the San Jose Sharks recorded in Game 5, that's a big number, but not one that's atypical for a Kings-Sharks game and not one that particularly seemed to bother Terry Murray. So far in this series, the Sharks have totaled 45, 34, 36, 27 and 52 shots, respective... Read More

Nick Nickson, radio voice extraordinaire and unofficial Kings historian, has helped clarify a couple of the franchise playoff records from Game 5. The Kings had announced that Jonathan Quick set a playoff single-game record with 51 saves. That seems to be true, although we're trying to determine who... Read More

What an amazing response there was yesterday to the Game 6 suite offer, as five suites were completely filled in less than 12 hours. That means at least 125 blog readers will be at Staples Center tonight to enjoy the action together. Larry Abel let me know last night that the capacity has been reach... Read More

Who saw this coming? In the regular season, forward Kyle Clifford, Brad Richardson and Wayne Simmonds combined for 63 points points. None of them had more than 14 goals or 30 points (Simmonds had both). Now, through the first five games of these playoffs, Clifford and Richardson are point-per-game p... Read More

The near-daily Dustin Penner watch took a positive turn in Game 5 last night, as Penner scored a goal and played 11 minutes, 41 seconds in a left-wing role with Jarret Stoll and Kevin Westgarth. That's a reduction in ice time for Penner, and Terry Murray explained today that the cutback isn't a puni... Read More

Meet Kevin Westgarth, playoff performer. In 56 regular-season games, Westgarth had three assists and 105 penalty minutes in his role as the Kings' enforcer. In the five games of this first-round playoff series, Westgarth has two assists, including a skilled pass to Dustin Penner that led to the King... Read More

All things being equal, a Sunday-afternoon practice -- particularly on Easter Sunday -- isn't ideal for players, but given the alternative, the Kings couldn't have been happier to be on the ice today. The alternative, of course, was sitting home and contemplating the end of the season. The Kings sti... Read More

Dean Lombardi said that the Kings will not yet call up any ``Black Aces'' from the AHL, but didn't rule it out for the future. That makes sense, given that the Kings have a morning skate tomorrow and, if they win, Game 7 would be in San Jose. It stands to reason that the Kings would reevaluate if th... Read More