Sharks at Kings
The San Jose Sharks set a franchise record when posting the best road record in the NHL during the regular season, and they continued their success away from home in their playoff opener. The Sharks look to take a firm hold on their first-round series when they visit the Los Angeles Kings for Game 2 on Saturday.
San Jose went 28-10-3 on the road during the regular season in 2015-16, recording the second-most victories away from home in league history, and carried over that success to Game 1 as it skated to a 4-3 victory. The opener featured several quick responses in the second period as Jeff Carter scored 40 seconds after defenseman Brent Burns gave San Jose a 2-1 lead and Los Angeles' 3-2 advantage lasted only 30 seconds thanks to Tomas Hertl's tally, before captain Joe Pavelski put the Sharks ahead for good 17 seconds into the third with his second goal of the game. The Kings certainly do not want to head to San Jose down 2-0 in the series but aren't likely to panic should it happen as they became the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit when these Pacific Division rivals last met in the postseason in 2014. Los Angeles would be wise to be more disciplined in Game 2 after giving San Jose's power play, which ranked third in the league during the regular season, four opportunities in the opener - one of which was converted.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports, CBC, TVA, CSN California (San Jose), FSN West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE SHARKS: It was no surprise that Pavelski, who recorded his sixth two-goal performance of his postseason career, scored the game-winner in Game 1 as he led the league in that category during the regular season with 11. "Big-game guy for us," coach Peter DeBoer told reporters. "He's our captain for a reason. He scores a lot of key goals. ... He's been clutch like that for us all season." Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup Thursday after missing the last 12 regular-season contests with a knee injury and was none the worse for wear, logging a team-high 23 minutes, 23 seconds of ice time.
ABOUT THE KINGS: Alec Martinez is a question mark for Game 2 as he left the opener after blocking a shot late in the second period and did not return for the third. The defenseman was playing his first game after missing the final four of the regular season with an undisclosed injury. Trevor Lewis scored a short-handed goal in the opener, Los Angeles' first in the postseason since Anze Kopitar tallied while down a player in 2012.
OVERTIME
1. Pavelski has scored six goals in six games against the Kings since the start of 2015-16.
2. Los Angeles recalled D Kevin Gravel from Ontario of the American Hockey League.
3. San Jose has won all three of its visits to Staples Center this season.