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Sharks vs. Kings Game 5: Sharks clinch series win in LA

Posted on by Richard Iurilli

The Sharks are going to the second round. After jumping out to a 3–0 lead early in the second only to see it evaporate by the end of the period, San Jose retook the lead in the third on a goal by Joonas Donskoi and never looked back. Joe Pavelski added an insurance goal and Melker Karlsson scored into the empty net as the Sharks held on to defeat LA and clinch a first round victory over their bitter Southern California rivals.

Now the Sharks can fly home to San Jose and await the outcome of the Ducks–Predators series, which is tied at two games apiece with Game 5 in Anaheim tomorrow night.

After LA tied the game at 3–3 in the second, Donskoi put San Jose back on top in the third with his second goal of the game, skating into the Kings‘ zone 3-on-2 with Logan Couture and Brent Burns, fighting his way past Drew Doughty and circling around the net to get in position to knock the shot from Burns past Jonathan Quick.

Pavelski added the insurance goal with seven and a half minutes to go on an innocent shot from the right boards that Quick would surely like to have back, beating him five-hole to put the Sharks up 5–3.

Karlsson added an empty net goal in the final minute to set up the 6–3 final score.

Donskoi got the Sharks on the board just 1:08 into the contest, beating Quick top corner with a shot that the Kings netminder had little chance of stopping with Logan Couture camped right in front of him.

Consecutive penalties to Luke Schenn and Dustin Brown gave the Sharks 1:45 of 5-on-3 time two minutes after Donskoi’s first goal, but San Jose’s red hot power play couldn’t cash in after scoring three goals in Game 4.

Chris Tierney and the fourth line doubled the Sharks’ lead at 11:21 with a goal that followed almost exactly the same formula as Donskoi’s first tally. This time it was Tommy Wingels who skated in front of the net as Tierney shot the puck over Quick’s blocker from the faceoff circle.

Martin Jones kept the Kings off the board with several big saves in the opening minutes of the second period before Matt Nieto made it 3–0 Sharks.

Patrick Marleau had a chance to make it 4–0 on a penalty shot, but he couldn’t convert on the attempt. After that LA took over the period, getting on the board when Doughty fired a shot that bounced off both Dwight King and Anze Kopitar and past Jones. LA added goals by Jeff Carter and Kris Versteeg to tie the game at 3–3 and set up yet another nail biter before San Jose pulled ahead for good in the third.

Sharks goals (assists): Joonas Donskoi (Logan Couture), Chris Tierney (Brent Burns), Matt Nieto (Joel Ward, Logan Couture), Joonas Donskoi (Brent Burns, Logan Couture), Joe Pavelski (Brent Burns, Paul Martin), Melker Karlsson (Patrick Marleau)

[Fancy Stats] – [Kings Reaction] – [TOI Log] – [Event Summary] – [Faceoff Report] – [PBP Log]

Fear the Fin’s Three Stars

1) Joonas Donskoi

2) Brent Burns

3) Joe Pavelski

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