Down 3-0 in the series going into Thursday night's Game 4, the Los Angeles Kings required a victory to avoid elimination at the hands of their Northern California rivals, the San Jose Sharks. Powered by a late second period push in which the Kings managed two unanswered goals less than three minutes apart, Los Angeles escaped from Game 4 of their opening-round series against the Sharks with a 6-3 victory and their faint Stanley Cup dreams intact.
Though the score was lopsided, this was another close game. The Sharks never led, but fought back from two separate one-goal deficits in the contest's opening 30 minutes, and made it interesting late despite trailing by three goals in the third period.
The Kings managed to chase Sharks goalie Antti Niemi from the net in the third period, and 30 minutes in penalties were handed out in the game's final 30 seconds, as the two teams exchanged pleasantries - two fights broke out - before Game 5.
The series now shifts back to San Jose, where the Sharks will look to avoid a return trip to the City of Angels for Game 6. The puck drops on Game 5 Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.
Star Performer
After complaining about his usage earlier this week, Los Angeles Kings all-universe defenseman Drew Doughty logged a game high 28:02 in Game 4. He was dominant in those minutes too, as the Kings outshot San Jose's best players 14 to 9 with Doughty on the ice at even strength, and outscored the Sharks 2-0.
Those figures are especially impressive in comparison with how the rest of the Kings' defense corps performed. With Slava Voynov on the ice at five-on-five, the Kings were outscored and outshot 5-to-11, and the Kings were outshot 4-to-12 with Robyn Regehr on the ice.
The continued inability of Los Angeles' secondary defense pairings to spend any time in the Sharks end of the ice is a major problem for the Kings in this series, but it matters a lot less when Doughty controls the game like he did Thursday.
Turning Point
Marian Gaborik's early third-period goal gave the Kings a three goal lead and all but ensured that Game 5 of this series would take place:
[Courtesy NHL.com]
Highlight Reel
There weren't any particularly pretty goals in this game (just a lot of scrummy tallies from the slot area). On the other hand, it sure looks like Sharks forward Matt Nieto meant to direct this puck off of Alec Martinez and past Jonathan Quick:
[Via @myregularface, courtesy Fox Sports]
But did he call bank?
Series at a Glance
Game 1 Recap: Sharks 6, Kings 3
Game 2 Recap: Sharks 7, Kings 2
Game 3 Recap: Sharks 4, Kings 3 (OT)
Game 4 Recap: Kings 6, Sharks 3
