The View from San Jose

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Kevin Kurz: Rewind: Sharks take mental vacation in 3-0 loss to Kings

Joe Pavelski, who has been unable to finish on several glorious chances the past two games, offered this head-scratcher: “We’re on right now. That switch is on. We’re in playoff mode. It’s been that way for a while.”

On, Joe? Really?

There are mountains of evidence to the contrary indicating the Sharks weren’t prepared at the start of the game, and didn’t get any better after allowing 12 of the first 14 shots on goal and quickly falling behind.

Kevin Kurz: Sharks d-man Vlasic’s status for Game 6 in question

“[The referees] have a tough job. They can’t determine the extent of an injury on the spot. I don’t hold them accountable for that. They made the call that they thought was appropriate. Unfortunately, he’s injured. We want to get that [hit] out of the game, if we can.”

When asked if Vlasic would play in Game 6, McLellan said: “I don’t know.”

Ray Ratto: Stumbling Sharks staring history in the face

McLellan didn’t answer the Stalock-for-Antti Niemi question directly, but it seems painfully evident that the goalie switch after 22 seconds of the second period is now going to be a permanent condition. Niemi, like his compatriots in front of him, looked slow on the first goal by Tyler Toffoli off a two-man break, was outnumbered on the second by Anze Kopitar, and completely buffaloed on the third by Jeff Carter. Often goalies can be pulled to send a message to the rest of the team about their shoddy workmanship, but in this case it was a message that very definitely included Niemi as well.

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

David Pollak: Sharks shut out by Kings

A series that saw the Sharks jump out to a 3-0 lead now is one game away from an anything-can-happen seventh game that would be played Wednesday night back at the SAP Center.

The Sharks came out flat-footed in Game 5 and before the first period was over, Los Angeles had a 2-0 lead on goals by Tyler Toffoli and Anze Kopitar.

Daniel Brown: Sharks lose Vlasic to injury in Game 5 setback

Vlasic’s absence is a rarity. This was his 81st playoff game, extending his Sharks record for most postseason games by a defenseman.

He also had a consecutive games streak reach 217 games before he sat out April 11 against the Colorado Avalanche. The streak ended not because of an injury, but because the Sharks wanted him fresh for the playoffs.

Mark Purdy: San Jose Sharks take dive in first period against Los Angeles Kings

In Game 2 on the same ice, the Sharks had also trailed by 2-0 after one period. But they rallied to win 7-2. This time, no rally. That ugly first period turned around the game. Turned around the momentum. Did it turn around the series?

No matter how you looked at it, the Sharks were the team that crashed in the turn. When Antti Niemi allowed another goal in the opening minute of the second period, McLellan pulled him off the ice and inserted backup Alex Stalock, who shut out Los Angeles the rest of the way — as if it mattered. The Sharks flailed and put some pressure on Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, but couldn’t get a puck past him.

David Pollak: Will Vlasic be available for Game 6? Will Niemi start in goal? Unanswered questions after Sharks’ flat-footed 3-0 loss in Game 6

They see their once impressive 3-0 series start completely overshadowed by a flat-footed performance in a game in which they could have advanced to the second round of the playoff with a win.

They saw their best defenseman sidelined after what Todd McLellan described as a hit to the head by Jarret Stoll that earned him a roughing penalty and nothing more. Whether Marc-Edouard Vlasic will be able to play in Game 6 on Monday night at Staples Center is in question.

NHL.COM

Eric Gilmore: Sharks can’t recover after slow start vs. Kings

The Sharks were outshot 18-6 in the first period and had had 10 giveaways to four for Los Angeles. The Sharks had hoped to generate a better forecheck and put more pressure on Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, but they had trouble even getting the puck out of their own end.

“I don’t have an explanation for that,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of the sloppy play. “I thought we were slow. Simply put we were slow. We didn’t have legs and we didn’t execute well, which made us even slower. We had poor puck support, and that made us slow.”

SB Nation – FEAR THE FIN

The Neutral: Sharks play worst game of series, down to two chances to win it

Despite everything, the Sharks are, at least mathematically, still in the driver’s seat in this series. They have three wins while the Kings have two. They have two chances to win this series while the Kings are done if they can’t manufacture a victory on Monday. But after a horrendous performance on home-ice that saw San Jose get outshot 41-30 despite trailing nearly the entire game, that saw them control just 25% of 5-on-5 shot attempts when the score was close, that saw their starting goaltender chased from the net 22 seconds into the second period, that saw them blow five power play opportunities, that saw their coaching staff panic and go full line-blender for most of the game and that, overall, saw the Sharks bring their worst effort of the year to a terrific opportunity to close out this series…it’s hard not to let that familiar playoff malaise seep back in.