What a difference a night, a couple of bounces, and a few stepped up performances makes right?
The Kings took one off the San Jose Sharks in a game that looked more like vintage Kings hockey at times.
Dustin Brown, Justin Williams, and Tyler Toffoli, all of whom had been almost non-existent to this point, each turned in multi-point games to lead the Kings to a 6-3 victory.
Now it's back to San Jose, and hopefully the Kings can take a little bit of that frustrating nastiness they played with to the bay area also.
It's still such an out of the ordinary series though in the grand scheme of things. If you were expecting tight checking, low scoring games...well forget about it. The two teams have turned in a staggering 34 goals in 4 games. The two teams played 5 times this year and scored a combined 21 goals. Pretty ridiculous stuff.
Expect the unexpected maybe? Did anyone expect the Sharks to dismantle the Kings defense in the first two games? Did anyone expect them to be up 3-0? Does anyone expect a comeback?
So what changed?
The Kings staved off the sweep due to clutch performances, and Dustin Brown put it best after the game.
"If your best players are your best players it gives you a chance to win."
Here, here No. 23! The Kings certainly did get fantastic games from some big performers. The Sharks likewise didn't get much from the top lines, but still had the the third and fourth lines chugging along. Matt Nieto, James Sheppard, and Tomas Hertl continue to be productive and dangerous.
Brown finished the night with 4 shots, 10 hits, a goal, an assist, and a plus-one rating.
Gaborik also had a huge two goal game, and now has three in the series.
Much love to Helene Elliott of the LA Times for tweeting out this after the game:
Memo to Dean Lombardi: you need to sign Gaborik.
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) April 25, 2014The Kings looked the more energetic team from the start. They controlled the play more confidently at times, and finished every check. By the end of the game the Sharks looked frustrated with both the scoreline and the physicality that the Kings were putting forth on them. It was a little bit of role reversal from Games One and Two.
Another key to the game was the swap of Williams and Brown by Darryl Sutter. The two changed lines and linemates, and both looked energized and ready to make a difference. What else also happened to open up the contributions from those two lines? Mike Richards locked it up against Joe Thornton.
Thanks to our good friends at Jewels From the Crown for the following stuff.
Sharks-Kings Game 4 Matchups: pic.twitter.com/FtfM9Nm586
— Robert P. (@RobertJFTC) April 25, 2014Richards spent a staggering 67% of his minutes against Joe Thornton. With that in mind, the Stoll, Kopitar, and Carter lines were more easily able to match up evenly across the board avoiding Joe Thornton's line.
Here's a look at what the game 3 matchups were.
Line matching through 3 periods: pic.twitter.com/EuI1s9xqWr
— Robert P. (@RobertJFTC) April 23, 2014Big, big difference. Sutter must have seen something he liked, because that is an immense difference. If Mike Richards can continue to play well against Joe Thornton it could be the key in the Kings getting back into the series. It would also help if they continued to get evenly distributed scoring. One way to do that? Axe the Joe Thornton line. Maybe Sutter has answered the question of what do you do with Mike Richards for us?
Also, Stoll was getting absolutely dismantled by the Sheppard line earlier in the series. This free's up more ice time to balance out Carter taking some shift against the Sharks third line. One move like this can have a ripple effect across the lineup.
While defense is still a fairly big concern, it has been a concern on both sides. While people are quick to point out that the Kings have given up a stupidly high 20 goals in 4 games, the Sharks have also given up 14 in 4 games. Definitely not a defense first series. Neither goalie should be too in love with their numbers so far, and at this point it seems like goaltending is actually the biggest non-factor in this series.
Overall the Kings got some bounces, played a much better game, and got some key performances. All of those spell success.
This is just one game however, and the Kings have to continue to dig deep if they want to climb out of this hole. SAP Center proved to be a bit unwelcoming to start the series and you can expect much of the same in Game 5. One game at a time is going to have to be the mantra. That was the mantra at the morning skate, and if they want to do what is almost an impossibility they'll have to continue to scrap for their lives.
Oh, has anyone heard from Ken Campbell of THN yet? Maybe Stalock should start Game 5...
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On a related note, Selke finalists came out and Anze Kopitar was amongst the nominees.
Along with him are Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks.
While I fully expect and support Patrice Bergeron taking home the prize, if Kopitar is not head and shoulders ahead of Toews in the voting I will be mad.
That's really all I got on that one.
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