NBCSN continues its coverage of the 2013-14 campaign tonight when the San Jose Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings at the SAP Center at 10:30 p.m. ET. In addition to NBCSN, you can also watch the game online.
The Sharks and Kings have faced each other in twice in the previous three postseasons and have each come away with a series win. Now Round Three looks probable, so this match will serve as a potential playoff preview.
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The fact that these two powerhouses might play against each other right off the bat should make for a great show, especially with expectations so high for both teams.
Los Angeles will try and one-up Chicago’s recent success by claiming the Stanley Cup for the second time in three years. In order to do that, they need goaltender Jonathan Quick to remain at the top of his game. Quick frustrated the Sharks in the second round of the 2013 playoffs and has won both of his starts against them this season. Fresh off his 17-save shutout on Wednesday, he might be back in net tonight.
The Kings will also need help from one of the new faces in this rivalry: Marian Gaborik. This will be his first game against the Sharks since the Kings acquired him from Columbus. He’s on a five-game point streak and the hope in Los Angeles is that he can continue to bolster the team’s anemic offense.
Los Angeles ranks 25th in the league in goals per game, down from 10th in the shortened campaign. That’s not an issue that the Sharks share. Although Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are both firmly in their mid-30s, they haven’t slowed down and Joe Pavelski has set new career-highs with 38 goals and 75 points in 77 games.
The Sharks will also be held to a high standard in the playoffs, but they are also being looked at in a different light. Los Angeles has proven it can excel when it counts the most. San Jose, on the other hand, has clinched a postseason berth for the 10th straight season and still hasn’t made it beyond the Western Conference Final.
There have been 19 playoff appearance streaks that have lasted longer than the Sharks’, but of them, only six ran their course without a single championship. To put it another way, of the six teams that are currently in position to make the playoffs for at least the fifth consecutive season, San Jose is the only one to have nothing to show for their run.
Beating the Kings tonight won’t change that, but it would be the opening salvo in San Jose’s bid to finally shake the stigma surrounding them.