LOS ANGELES, CA (BDCi) – In a series that has seen the home team win each game so far the question everyone had was “would this change?” The Los Angeles Kings earned victories on home ice during games one and two of the series while the San Jose Sharks earned home victories in games three and four. With the series tied at two games a-piece the series traveled back to Los Angeles for game five where the winner would be one victory closer to the Western Conference Finals. Would the Sharks pull off a third straight victory? Would the Kings continue to be perfect at home this playoff season? Let’s find out!
For the first time this series the Kings actually looked like the dominant team in the first period as they had puck possession for quite some time and fired more shots on net than the Sharks as the Kings got nine shots on goal while the Sharks only had six. While the Kings had more shots, that didn’t mean they had more goals as they were unable to find the back of the net. The San Jose Sharks however had the same problem as they also were unable to find the back of the net and the first period ended at a 0-0 tie.
In the second period it was more of the same from the first period as the two teams battled furiously to take the lead, however the goalies were on their A-game as Jonathan Quick and Antti Niemi continued to turn aside shot after shot. Finally with just under two minutes to play in the period the scoreless game finally had a score to it as Justin Williams fired a shot on net that Anze Kopitar was able to corral the rebound and put it in the back of the net to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. That lead would stand for the remainder of the period and the Kings would enter the third period ahead 1-0.
In the third period the Kings quickly turned their one goal lead into a two goal lead after Slava Voynov put a shot past Antti Niemi that perfectly hugged the post and slide in on the side to give the Kings a 2-0 advantage. Jonathan Quick would continue to play stellar hockey and in the final two minutes the Sharks pulled Niemi to get an extra skater and got quite a few solid shots on net. Quick however held his ground and was able to hold on for the shutout. The Kings would add one empty net goal to make the final score 3-0 as Jeff Carter would score his fifth goal of the playoffs.
The Kings now lead the series three games to two and will have a chance to win the series as game six will be played on Sunday in San Jose. With a loss, the series would come to a decisive game seven in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
By: Benjamin Robinson
Source: ESPN
May 24, 2012
9:40 am PDT