The Sharks return home with a world of confidence, while the Kings are reeling with the puck set to drop on Game 3 of this best-of-seven series Monday night in San Jose as part of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
San Jose is staked to a 2-0 lead, toppling Los Angeles 4-3 in Game 1 on Thursday and following it up with a 2-1 victory in Game 2 on Saturday.
The Kings know what it's like to come from behind as they erased a 3-0 series deficit to bounce the Sharks from the opening round of the playoffs two years ago en route to their second Stanley Cup in three years.
Joe Pavelski has been a force for San Jose through its first three games, notching three goals. The captain found the back of the net once in Game 2 and assisted on Logan Couture's game-winner. Vincent Lecavalier scored the lone goal for Los Angeles in Game 2, while Jake Muzzin, Jeff Carter and Trevor Lewis found the twine in Game 1.
"If you've got a team in a hole, you want to keep trying to pin them down and play a hard game and not take a step back because you know they're thinking right now that we got to get a win and we got to get one early," Pavelski told NHL.com. "We're going to try to reestablish our game and come out because we're still hungry."
Despite dropping both games at the Staples Center in Games 1 and 2, the Kings aren't allowing the pressure to get to them, even though Anze Kopitar (team-high 78 points in regular season) and Tyler Toffoli (club-best 31 goals) were held pointless through the first two games.
"I don't think we are worried about being stressed or whatever you want to call it," Toffoli said per NHL.com. "We just want to play our hockey. [Saturday] night was a little better than Game 1, but being a little better is not good enough."
The goaltending storyline has thus far seen the protégé get the best of his mentor.
Former Kings and current Sharks netminder Martin Jones is 2-0 thus far with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage in the series. Jonathan Quick, meanwhile, is 0-2 with a 3.08 GAA and a .870 save percentage.
Game Preview & Live Stream
Details: Kings at Sharks Game 3
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT).
Radio: Los Angeles (AM 570); San Jose (KFOX 98.5)
Series: Sharks lead 2-0.
Prediction: Our predictions for this series can be found here.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
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