The Los Angeles Kings, Stanley Cup winners in 2012, are on the brink of elimination.
The Kings lost Game 3 of their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series against the San Jose Sharks in overtime on Tuesday night. Sharks forward Patrick Marleau netted the winner when he put a gutless backhand shot past Jonathan Quick 6:20 into the first overtime period. It was San Jose's first shot in overtime.
Star Performer
A converted defenseman who has morphed into the patron saint of forechecking, Brent Burns had a dominant outing in Game 3 for San Jose. The Sharks power forward threw his weight around (he was credited with eight hits), was buzzing in the offensive end all night (he took seven shots), and even opened the scoring with a knuckle puck that would even make Keenan Thompson blush:
It helps that with Burns on the ice at even-strength the Sharks out-shot the Kings 12-to-4.
Turning Point
Rookie Tomas Hertl's rookie season was cut short by a rather filthy knee-on-knee hit delivered by Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown. Before the series, Hertl did not bother to pretend that he forgot about Brown's hit.
So it was probably quite sweet for the skilled 20-year-old forward to send Game 3 to overtime with a game-tying marker scored midway through the third period.
Highlight Reel
Marian Gaborik's flashy backhand goal was pretty sweet, but this prime example of Robyn Regehr's defensive coverage does a better job summarizing how this opening round series has gone for the Kings so far:
[Courtesy CBC]
Quote of the Night
"We are not going to go quietly" - L.A. Kings coach Darryl Sutter on his team's current hopeless looking predicament.
Series at a Glance
Game 1 Recap: Sharks 6, Kings 3
Game 2 Recap: Sharks 7, Kings 2
Game 4 of the series goes Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
