San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings Preview, Score & Results

Frank Doyle has previews and predictions for all of the NHL playoffs’ opening-round series. This time he breaks down the San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings. Check out all of Sports Interaction’s Stanley Cup odds here.

Odds: San Jose Sharks -147, Los Angeles Kings +107

San Jose Sharks:

The only team in the league that can rival Pittsburgh’s top-six forwards is the Sharks with the likes of Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture coming over the boards. San Jose’s defence is also deep enough that it doesn’t have to play anybody more than 22 minutes on the blue line. That will be huge down the road if they advance past L.A. The only real question plaguing the Sharks may be in goal, where Antti Niemi cruised early and struggled late in the season. If he can hold it together, San Jose may be playing deep into June.

Other NHL playoff series previews:

Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars

New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings

Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues

Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings

Los Angeles Kings:

Los Angeles’ strength is at the back with an extremely steady defence led by Drew Doughty and the unflappable Jonathan Quick in goal. From there, it gets a little interesting. The Kings struggled to score for long stretches during the season but hoped that acquiring Marian Gaborik at the trade deadline would fix that. He had 16 points in 19 games with the Kings but can disappear too. Gaborik may have a tough time finding open ice against San Jose’s size and speed.

Key factors:

Special teams will be huge in this series and the Kings clicked on just 15.1 percent of their power plays in the regular season. Home ice will also be a big factor with the home squad going 4-1 in five meetings between the Sharks and Kings during the regular season. Last year the two teams played in five one-goal games before the Kings finally advanced.

Prediction:

The Sharks have taken a step forward from where they were last season and will be out for revenge here. Los Angeles takes far too many penalties and could see its offensive issues and problems on the power play be the deciding factor as the Sharks advance this time around.

Pick: San Jose Sharks win in six games.

Results:

Game 1: 6-3 San Jose

Game 2: 7-2 San Jose

Game 3: 4-3 San Jose (OT)

Game 4: 6-3 Los Angeles

Game 5: 3-0 Los Angeles

Game: 6: 4-1 Los Angeles