Sharks vs. Kings, Game 3: By the Numbers

• Logan Couture will receive a lion’s share of the glory for last night’s win, and rightfully so after returning from injury to score the overtime winner. But that was a performance for the ages by Joe Thornton. While his line didn’t register on the scoreboard (although he did record an assist on Couture’s goal), they ravaged the Kings territorially every single time they were on the ice. L.A. simply didn’t have an answer for Jumbo.
• After a productive Game 2, Scott Gomez and Tommy Wingels struggled while going up exclusively against the Kings’ bottom six. That probably had more than a little to do with Martin Havlat’s injury forcing the coaching staff to shuffle the deck at left wing on that line but the Sharks need a stronger effort from Gomez in particular if he’s going to be playing sheltered minutes as the team’s third-line center.
• Speaking of Havlat’s injury, he appeared visibly hobbled even in the few minutes he did play. I’d be surprised if he returns to this series but I’m also not really convinced Bracken Kearns and Tim Kennedy should both draw into the lineup. I wonder if rolling the dice on Freddie Hamilton or Sebastian Stalberg wouldn’t be the worst idea.
• They still trail in the series but the Sharks have been the better team in every game. This just isn’t the same Kings team we saw a year ago, who I’m pretty confident would have just about dusted the Sharks off by now. San Jose really doesn’t have to change anything in order to have a very good shot at completing the comeback here with Jonathan Quick the only thing standing in their way./

Head-to-head scoring chances
(Click to enlarge)

• Mike Richards has historically struggled against Joe Thornton but last night’s matchup was as one-sided as it gets. Not only does the Thornton line dominating Richards have the obvious effect of generating scoring opportunities for the Sharks, it also renders Richards and Jeff Carter complete non-factors offensively as they were at evens last night.
• Marleau and Pavelski were able to hold Kopitar in check by both the scoring chance and possession data (as well as, of course, on the scoreboard). If this is repeatable, it’s a similar formula to what the Sharks used to beat Vancouver; have the Marleau line saw off possession with the opposition’s big guns and have Thornton run roughshod over their second line./

For more information on what these numbers mean, head here for an in-depth explanation of Corsi and here for more details on scoring chances.