It’s hard to imagine a more nightmarish scenario for a San Jose Sharks team still alive for the seventh game of a playoff series than the one that has unfolded against the remarkably resilient Los Angeles Kings.
With three wins after the first three games, the Sharks could have closed things out in Los Angeles, but the Kings earning a split at home wasn’t a major obstacle, particularly with the series shifting to San Jose for Game 5. A loss at home, combined with a second consecutive poor performance from Antti Niemi, introduced the first real elements of doubt into a series that had looked all but decided much earlier.
Entering the critical sixth game, the Sharks made changes, including a debatable decision to replace Niemi as starter with backup Alex Stalock. Early on the situation seemed fine, with San Jose holding its own through two periods.
At that point the game was tied 1-1 and neither team held a clear edge in play:
So matters stood until a little over halfway through the third period, when this happened:
There were two potential problems w ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Kings’ Incredible Comeback Continues: Will Sharks Have Any Answers in Game 7?
April 28th, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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