Its crazy how much can change in seven days! Last week was
checkmate for the Los Angeles Kings; tonight they are trying to make history by
becoming just the fourth team in NHL history to win a series in game 7 after
going down 3-0.
The first two games of this series were all San Jose. The Kings
looked lost, had huge defensive breakdowns, weren’t producing enough offense
and Jonathan Quick looked nothing like the elite goaltender who won the Conn
Smythe trophy in 2012. Martin Jones started the third period of game 1 after
Quick allowed 5 goals on 28 shots. He would stop all shots faced, but the Kings
would fall 6-3, with San Jose scoring an empty net goal.
Fans assumed game 2 would be better, I mean there was no way
Quick would allow 5 goals again. They were partially correct, he wouldn’t allow
5 goals, he would allow 7 and, after taking a 2-0 lead in the first period, the
Kings would fall 7-2.
The Kings started to turn things around in game 3, but would
ultimately lose 4-3, in overtime. The Brent Burns opening goal and
the Patrick Marleau game winning goal were weak and people started to question whether
Jones should be given the start for game 4. To Coach Daryl Sutter’s credit, he
only pulled Quick once and started him in each game. While many were questioning Quick’s
ability, Sutter's confidence in him never wavered.
From game 4 on, Quick wouldn’t disappoint his teammates or his coach and the
Kings would go on to win 3 straight games. Quick would win game 4 with a final
score of 6-3, before getting a shutout in game 5 at the Shark Tank, and
allow only one goal in the Kings’ 4-1 win in game 6. When his team faced
elimination, when they needed him most, Jonathan Quick stood tall.
Heading into game 7 tonight you’d have to think the Kings
have all the momentum, the Sharks have now had 3 opportunities to close out the
series, and haven’t yet come close to doing so. Now it’s not as though this series
hasn’t been without controversy. I’m sure many Sharks fans feel “cheated” to
paraphrase from Coach Todd McLellan, after the game winning goal in game 6, but
you can’t deny these last three games have been quite entertaining. I mean when
else will the Los Angeles Kings truly be seen as the underdogs in a series?
I also can’t help but
wonder how instrumental former Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards and leading
goal scorer Jeff Carter have been in this Kings comeback. While Carter was
injured during the series against the Boston Bruins, both were members of
the 2010 Flyers team that was the last team in the NHL to successfully overcome
a 3-0 series lead. As we all saw in the 2012 NHL36, Richards is still very
vocal in both the dressing room and with the referees even though he no longer
wear the ‘C’ so I can imagine he has been very impactful behind the camera these
last few games. All teams preach that they need to take it one game at a time,
or one period at a time, so that the task doesn’t become overwhelming, but that
can’t be easy to accomplish. Having veteran experience who has been in this
situation before must have been invaluable for the Kings.
The Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and last year made it
to the Conference Finals; they know how to win and how to shove the other team
off the ledge once you have pushed them to the brink. They have closed out 6 of
their last 7 playoff series’ and so that is why I will be cheering loudly for
the Kings to make history tonight and win game 7.
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