Jack Johnson (3) and Drew Doughty (8) of the Los Angeles Kings celebrate after Johnson scored a goal against the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 at the HP Pavilion on Saturday in San Jose. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
A quiet day all around. The Kings had an off-ice gathering back home at which little was discussed save a rehash of Saturday's 4-0 win over San Jose in Game 2 and a restatement of purpose for Game 3 Tuesday night.
The Sharks, for their part, held an optional skate, and most players chose the no-skate option. No lineup changes were expected save the decision on defenceman Ian White, who declared himself much improved and ready to return.
For what that may be worth.
The two new dents in the jalopy that is the San Jose penalty kill were only the most obvious talking points. Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson both scored while the Sharks were shorthanded, undoing the Sharks' hopes of going up 2-0 before they even had a chance to clear their throats.
"I was actually hoping that as we watched it, I could find a few more positives as far as battles and competitive situations," San Jose coach Todd McLellan told reporters Sunday. "But I didn't find that. Sometimes when you get humbled as bad as we did, it's a lot more effective than losing in overtime. Hopefully the message resonates here in the locker room."
For his part, Doughty owned Game 2 as much as Game 1 owned him, as he and Johnson were the linchpins that exposed the Sharks' penalty killers.
"We were moving the puck well," Doughty said. "We studied their penalty killing and saw their tendencies and we exploited them. We moved the puck quick, found seams, got pucks to the net and we had a great net presence as well."
This was a change from their iffy power play during the regular season and a reminder of their best work, most recently the 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) they logged against Vancouver a year ago.
The Kings are still expected to bring up John Zeiler, whom they couldn't get through re-entry waivers before Game 2, though a 4-0 shutout and two days may convince head coach Terry Murray and general manager Dean Lombardi that re-inserting Jarret Stoll, who was suspended after running Sharks defenseman Ian White in Game 1, may be enough change for Game 3.
As for McLellan, the one change they did make, defenceman Justin Braun, was also one of the few Sharks he had any kind words for, so one can assume he will play Game 3 aside Niclas Wallin if White cannot clear his medicals in time. Kent Huskins, Wallin's normal partner, also skated, but that was probably more just in hopes of getting ready for later games.
"We were talking about systems and what we were doing," McLellan said in his Sunday scrum. "[Gordie Howe] once said sometimes you just have to line up, look the other guy in the eye and just try to beat him. Sometimes it's as simple as that. We're asking our players to approach it that way."
In the meantime, it was all stern faces and full-steam-ahead for a team whose rear-view mirror is never far away.
"They didn't have to spend very much energy in their end," he said Saturday night. "We're going to have to look at each other tomorrow when we come to the rink and ask if we gave enough tonight, if there was enough there to win a game. And I don't think there was."
He still doesn't think so.
Line combinations:
LOS ANGELES
Dustin Penner Michal Handzus Dustin Brown
Ryan Smyth Jarret Stoll Justin Williams
Kyle Clifford Brad Richardson Wayne Simmonds
Alexei Ponikarovsky Trevor Lewis Kevin Westgarth
Willie Mitchell Drew Doughty
Jack Johnson Rob Scuderi
Matt Greene Alec Martinez
Jonathan Quick
Jonathan Bernier
SAN JOSE
Patrick Marleau Joe Thornton Devin Setoguchi
Dany Heatley Logan Couture Ryane Clowe
Torrey Mitchell Joe Pavelski Kyle Wellwood
Ben Eager Scott Nichol Jamal Mayers
Douglas Murray Dan Boyle
Marc-Edouard Vlasic Jason Demers
Justin Braun Niclas Wallin
Antti Niemi
Antero Niittymaki
The Sharks, for their part, held an optional skate, and most players chose the no-skate option. No lineup changes were expected save the decision on defenceman Ian White, who declared himself much improved and ready to return.
For what that may be worth.
The two new dents in the jalopy that is the San Jose penalty kill were only the most obvious talking points. Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson both scored while the Sharks were shorthanded, undoing the Sharks' hopes of going up 2-0 before they even had a chance to clear their throats.
"I was actually hoping that as we watched it, I could find a few more positives as far as battles and competitive situations," San Jose coach Todd McLellan told reporters Sunday. "But I didn't find that. Sometimes when you get humbled as bad as we did, it's a lot more effective than losing in overtime. Hopefully the message resonates here in the locker room."
For his part, Doughty owned Game 2 as much as Game 1 owned him, as he and Johnson were the linchpins that exposed the Sharks' penalty killers.
"We were moving the puck well," Doughty said. "We studied their penalty killing and saw their tendencies and we exploited them. We moved the puck quick, found seams, got pucks to the net and we had a great net presence as well."
This was a change from their iffy power play during the regular season and a reminder of their best work, most recently the 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) they logged against Vancouver a year ago.
The Kings are still expected to bring up John Zeiler, whom they couldn't get through re-entry waivers before Game 2, though a 4-0 shutout and two days may convince head coach Terry Murray and general manager Dean Lombardi that re-inserting Jarret Stoll, who was suspended after running Sharks defenseman Ian White in Game 1, may be enough change for Game 3.
As for McLellan, the one change they did make, defenceman Justin Braun, was also one of the few Sharks he had any kind words for, so one can assume he will play Game 3 aside Niclas Wallin if White cannot clear his medicals in time. Kent Huskins, Wallin's normal partner, also skated, but that was probably more just in hopes of getting ready for later games.
"We were talking about systems and what we were doing," McLellan said in his Sunday scrum. "[Gordie Howe] once said sometimes you just have to line up, look the other guy in the eye and just try to beat him. Sometimes it's as simple as that. We're asking our players to approach it that way."
In the meantime, it was all stern faces and full-steam-ahead for a team whose rear-view mirror is never far away.
"They didn't have to spend very much energy in their end," he said Saturday night. "We're going to have to look at each other tomorrow when we come to the rink and ask if we gave enough tonight, if there was enough there to win a game. And I don't think there was."
He still doesn't think so.
Line combinations:
LOS ANGELES
Dustin Penner Michal Handzus Dustin Brown
Ryan Smyth Jarret Stoll Justin Williams
Kyle Clifford Brad Richardson Wayne Simmonds
Alexei Ponikarovsky Trevor Lewis Kevin Westgarth
Willie Mitchell Drew Doughty
Jack Johnson Rob Scuderi
Matt Greene Alec Martinez
Jonathan Quick
Jonathan Bernier
SAN JOSE
Patrick Marleau Joe Thornton Devin Setoguchi
Dany Heatley Logan Couture Ryane Clowe
Torrey Mitchell Joe Pavelski Kyle Wellwood
Ben Eager Scott Nichol Jamal Mayers
Douglas Murray Dan Boyle
Marc-Edouard Vlasic Jason Demers
Justin Braun Niclas Wallin
Antti Niemi
Antero Niittymaki
