Unbelievable.
What started as a series rout over a week ago, has now ended in a history making turnaround.
The Los Angeles Kings became just the fourth team in history on Wednesday night to come back from a 3-0 series deficit. They defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-1 in front of an absolutely stunned SAP Center crowd. An SAP Center crowd that was so distraught with their team, they mixed the cheers with plenty of boo's as the Sharks stayed on to salute the fans.
We'll start with the highlights.
Despite the score being 5-1, the game was much much closer than that. The Kings had to endure a stretch of tremendously bad discipline from the second period on. The Sharks had six powerplays on the night, and four in the second period alone. However, the Kings stood tall and killed every single one.
I asked for a hero in my keys to the game for Game 7, and tonight there were plenty. A young trio of players stepped up for the Kings. Tanner Pearson had a goal and a beauty of assist, Tyler Toffoli netted the back-breaking third goal, and Jake Muzzin played an outstanding game, collecting four blocked shots, three hits, and 21 minutes of ice time. Almost 4 minutes of Muzzin's 21 came on the penalty kill.
On top of those three, Anze Kopitar was an absolute beast for the fourth straight game. He tallied the game-winning goal and an assist for his ninth and tenth points of the post-season.
Oh, and Jonathan Quick came up with 39 saves on 40 shots. The same Jonathan Quick people were questioning on whether or not he should start Game 4. Stand up and raise your hands...we won't be THAT mean. The battle back mentality of Quick shined through again for the Conn Smythe winner. After allowing 17 goals in the first 3 games he locked it down, allowing just 5 goals in the remaining 4 games.
The Kings join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975 New York Islanders, and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers in teams that have come back from 3-0 series deficits.
Mike Richards now becomes the only player in history to play in two series in which his team was down 3-0 and came back to win 4-3. (Jeff Carter was out with a foot injury in 2010 and did not play.)
And now, it's on.
The Kings move on to take on the Anaheim Ducks for the first time in franchise history. A spot in the Conference finals will be on the line. This "rivalry" needs this, and it should be a tremendous series. Puck drops on Saturday night in Anaheim.
There really isn't much to say about this series except that from Game 3 on, the Kings did all the right things and the Sharks did all the wrong things.
Okay, maybe "all the wrong things" is harsh, but when you look at the overarching series...they did a lot wrong and the Kings did a lot right. There were a lot of very fortunate things that happened on the side of the Kings though also. The Vlasic injury was incredibly detrimental to the Sharks blueline group, and then there was the Game 6 go-ahead goal which was a big turning point as well.
I praised Todd McClellan in the early goings for coaching a very strong series and making a lot of really solid in-game decisions. His line usage, D-pairing match-ups, and overall strategy was incredibly solid in the first two games. However, the Kings adapted and the Sharks stayed the same. They got away from their counter attack style and got sucked into playing the Kings physically, which is never a good strategy. Then the whole Niemi-Stalock debacle, that doesn't sit well in my mind. Stalock earned his keep for Game 7 in my eyes, and Niemi NEVER looked comfortable or confident in this final game.
To be fair to McClellan, he made no mistake about putting the blame on himself in the post game press conference.
Sharks coach Todd McClellan stood up & took full responsibility following the loss. Says lowest point since he's been here. #Sharks
— Sean Cunningham (@News10Sean) May 1, 2014But enough with dumping on the Sharks, they have a long and probably tumultuous offseason to deal with the many questions that now hang over the head of their roster and front office staff. Aging vets with almost zero playoff success in their tenure...it's not a recipe for a good summer, especially when you were just on the opposite end of history.
The Kings carried on after a 3-0 series hole like it was nothing. They said and did all the right things. They took it one game at a time and were still able to play as if there season was on the line. You can't really put a statistic or value on experience until you hit times like these when you need that swagger and mentality of "We've climbed bigger mountains together before, we can get out of this."
The Kings had that from Game 3 on. They looked defeated, deflated, disheveled, and downtrodden after Game 3 went against them. However, the team clearly looked within and found some fire in their belly and the will to not take this exit sitting down.
Justin Williams said it countless times on the leadup to Game 7 and in post games throughout the series,
“We have a very, very proud hockey team,…
And pride is what got the Kings back in this series, and eventually on to the second round. Of all the talk of identity and what not that you hear in the hockey world, this was a perfect example of a room that believed in themselves when faced with adversity.
But hey, enough with all this. It's only the first round, and they don't give out silverware for first round wins and 3-0 series comebacks. There is tons of hockey left to be played, and up come the Anaheim Ducks. Yes, the Anaheim Ducks team that struggled but ultimately prevailed against the Stars in six games. The same Anaheim Ducks team that gave the Kings fits all year despite the Kings holding very positive possession numbers against. Get ready for it folks. We get to see Corey Perry for a few games in a row here. Learn to love hating him.
Schedule: Sat / Monday in Anaheim.... then next Thursday and Saturday in LA.
— The Mayor John Hoven (@mayorNHL) May 1, 2014What a fantastic series this has been, much respect to the Sharks and their fans who showed great support and kept it pretty civil in our comment sections! Big shout out to our very own HockeyBuzz Sharks blogger Ryan Leong. I foresee a busy offseason in your future.
So who was your series MVP for the Kings guys?
Was it Quick? Kopitar? Williams? Doughty?...Toffoli?? You could make a case for a lot of different guys. Quick battled back mentally, Kopitar had 10 points in 7 games, Williams had four goals in the final four games of the series. Pearson came into the lineup and instilled some energy in a flat bottom 6. Drew Doughty, playing injured it seemed, logged huge ice time and came up with a huge Game 7 goal. So much to choose from! Let me know!
Also, hit me up on twitter! Some of the stuff I've been getting has been tremendous. Keep it up going into the second round folks.
Exhale for a few days folks. Saturday we start again, and this time it's a little closer to home. BIG Stick tap to Sharks fans. By in large I'm seeing a ton of grace in defeat here. Good on you folks! Worthy opponents on ice, good fans off ice.
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