The battle of California between NoCal (San Jose) and SoCal (Los Angeles) was expected to be a hard-fought, every-shift-might-be-your-last type of series. Two blowout defeats and a fluky overtime loss later, the Kings find themselves on the brink of elimination.
San Jose has had every bounce go their way so far, but that isn’t to take anything away from the Sharks. I’ll do my best to avoid any National Geographic metaphors when describing the dominance from San Jose, but to say that this series has been a disappointment is an understatement. Unless you are a Shark’s fan.
A cautionary note for those northern Californians who feel that their dominant three games entitles San Jose to a free pass through to the Stanley Cup Final. The Western Conference is full of teams that have handed the Sharks their lunch at one point or another this season. They still have to finish off a veteran team to reach the next round, and it doesn’t get any easier from there.
The fourth win in this series will be the most difficult to get and everyone expects an angry and proud Los Angeles club to come out like gangbusters in Game 4. Here are five takeaways from the series so far.
1. Are the Sharks setting themselves up for a repeat of last year?
Last season San Jose stumbled into the playoffs before getting hot and eliminating the higher seeded Vancouver Canucks in a four-game sweep. The next round San Jose swapped home wins with Los Angeles en route to a Game 7 road loss in Los Angeles. Revenge over the Kings would be sweet if they can bounce L.A. in four games, but hopefully a veteran San Jose club remembers how last year’s second round went down.
2. The Sharks are playing with a sense of urgency, and they need to.
I’ve noted all year that I felt that this might be the last stand for a lot of current Sharks, coaches included. Regular season success has failed to parlay into anything more than a few Conference Final appearances. The bar has to stay higher for the Sharks to reach the next level. There was never any doubt whether they had the talent on the roster, but they really look like they have just the right blend of youth, experience and motivation going right now.
3. Jonathan Quick isn’t this bad, is he?
The franchise goaltender in Los Angeles hasn’t been himself in any of the three games, getting smoked in the first two, before letting in a softy for the overtime winner in Game 3. Quick has looked shaky all series which doesn’t bode well for the fortunes of the team. Coach Daryl Sutter would be crazy for starting Martin Jones in an elimination game right? Quick has a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe on his resume, but he is also 0-3 with a 5.78 GAA and a .852 save percentage.
4. Patrick Marleau is still clutch.
Marleau has scored 83 game winners in the regular season and 15 in the playoffs, counting Tuesday night’s winner. While I may have considered him well past his prime and a possible liability in the playoffs, Marleau posted 33 goals and 70 points this season and has five points (3 goals and 2 assists) in the first three games of the series. He has a lot of mileage on those 34-year old wheels, but the 15-year veteran still knows how to find the net when it counts.
5. Someone needs to let Dustin Brown know that the 2013-14 season is under way.
The Los Angeles captain has been a no-show for most of the regular season (15 goals and 12 assists in 79 games). He has continued his indifferent play into the postseason, registering zero points in three games while adding 12 penalty minutes and four shots. The captain of the team needs to rally his club while their backs are squarely against the wall and get his game going in the right direction as well. Brown makes $7.25 million per season and needs to do his part to extend the Kings’ season.