The San Jose Sharks bent but did not break. They cracked but did not crumble. The Sharks finally exorcised the demons of past playoff flops with a gutsy 6-3 win in game five to eliminate the hated Los Angeles Kings 4-1.
The Kings never stopped fighting, even when they fell down big in an elimination game, they found ways to give themselves a chance to win the game.
The Sharks scored the game's first three goals, only to see the Kings come all the way back with three unanswered goals of their own in the second period, followed by three more unanswered San Jose goals.
The final score in both the series (4-1) and the game (6-3) was not indicative of the entire series. It was such a hard fought series with each game being a toss-up.
The game, the series, each shift, the swings in momentum....all of it was an intense flood of emotion as these two hard-nosed teams battled back and forth from end to end. I can't imagine another series being as good as that one, except maybe....all of them! What a first round its been.
The series is over because the Sharks were just that much better. Despite their best effort, the Kings found themselves in the uncomfortable position of being over-matched, especially on defense. The loss of Alec Martinez left the Kings thin on the blueline and it became their undoing.
On the other hand, the Sharks never put the lunch pails and hard-hats away. They came to the rink ready to work and ready to fend off whatever L.A. threw their way. That's not something we could never of past San Jose teams.
Now it's over and the Sharks finally have a moment to bathe in the deliciousness of sweet revenge for the collapse of '14. A series San Jose led 3-0, before melting down and losing four straight games in humiliating fashion.
What a long strange trip its been to get to this point... Am I right?
Now we can all take a deep breath and relax for a bit.
The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against either the Ducks or Preds is next...
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Joonas Donskoi is my new favorite Shark.
The 23-year-old rookie had an excellent series and was the difference in game 5. Donskoi scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period and brought energy to the ice every time he stepped onto it.
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I had my doubts for a bit. When they Kings pulled even I thought, "uh oh, here we go again." Fortunately Pete Deboer's group can take a punch, or two, or three.... This Sharks team is for real and I have to believe they will be one of the favorites to come out of the Western Conference.
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Kudos to Vinny Lecalvelier. If this indeed was his last game, he played like a champion. He made several really nice plays and had several good looks at the net. Thanks for the memories Vinny.
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Some numbers to ponder...
- Since 2011 the Sharks were 3-8 in elimination games... better make that 4-8 now.
- Head coach Pete Deboer is 4-0 in the playoff closeout games. (3-0 in 2012 with NJD)
- Joe Pavelski scored the back-breaking fifth goal for the Sharks in game 5. Pavleksi finished with a series high 5 goals. It's the most goals he's had in the playoffs since 2010-11 when he also had 5, but it took him 18 games to get there. It took just 5 games this time around.
- Brent Burns had 3 assists in game 5, including a beauty on Donskoi's game-winner. Burns finished with 2 goals and 6 assists in the four San Jose wins. He was held pointless in the game 3 loss.
- Martin Jones bested his former battery mate, Jonathan Quick. Jones was outstanding in this series and never seemed rattled even after the Kings tied the game up. He is only going to get stronger as the playoffs move along.
- The Sharks played the Kings in 19 consecutive playoff games. Their last playoff opponent, other than L.A., were the Vancouver Canucks in 2012-13. In case you care...San Jose won that series 4-0.
High fives and handshakes! Enjoy the win! It's gets tougher from here.
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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