Kings overpower Sharks to take 3-2 series lead

FINAL: Kings 3, Sharks 0

The Kings have out-shot the Sharks 28-21, moving closer to being one win from the series victory. The teams play again Sunday night at HP Pavilion.

Less than a minute left.

Pavelski of San Jose had a huge opening, charged toward the puck, but Quick again is there to stop it with his right leg. Incredible.

Carter then scores an empty net shot with 31.2 seconds left and it’s 3-0 Kings after Kopitar lost a face-off, but Richards passed up ice to the open Carter.

The final seconds are gone, the Kings win 3-0, to take a 3-2 series lead. Check latimes.com/sports later tonight for post-game coverage from Staples Center.

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Kopitar makes him do it again with 3:35 left.

Clifford sweeps the puck out of the zone in front of Quick. For good measure, Quick left-hands a save.,

The Sharks empty their net with more than two minutes remaining.

Dwight King pushes the puck toward the goal, not in.

Burns slaps a shot that Quick saves with his glove with 1:12 left.

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Now San Jose’s James Sheppard commits a roughing penalty on Mike Richards, the Kings getting the power play with 6:24 remaining. Sharks really up against it here.

Lewis had a good chance close to the goal, a Sharks’ stick thwarting his try.

Two full minutes tick away from the visitors.

Muzzin sent a blue-line shot at Niemi just before the power play dies.

Niemi makes a save.

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With 9:34 left, Anze Kopitar tripped Thornton, penalty and Sharks power play coming.

San Jose has only managed two shots in the prior two power plays.

Boyle fires from the blue line, never gets to Quick.

Justin Williams rips a shot off Niemi and Dustin Brown slams into Niemi. The goalie is down briefly, gets equipment on his right leg repaired, as Sharks Coach Todd Mclellan asks referee about incident, when it appeared a Sharks player pushed Brown into Niemi.

The Sharks’ power play is dead.

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The Kings’ Trevor Lewis just hit the post with a shot.

Burns has been a Sharks’ tough guy, with five hits tonight.

Quick is a victory away from being the MVP of this series as the clock ticks under 12 minutes.

The Kings are making crisp passes, working in a good shot as the Sharks so anxiously press for a goal.

Doughty delivers a hit. A Dan Boyle deflected shot nearly gets past Quick, nice save.

Less than 10 minutes remain.

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The Kings have out-shot the Sharks 21-12, definitely holding court here.

San Jose’s Burns fires a cannon shot at Quick, it doesn’t get past him, and Thornton threatens but is kept out.

San Jose defenseman Matt Irwin rips a shot deflected out of play, the Sharks desperate to get within a goal.

Quick cleared a shot, but nearly right to a Sharks’ stick.

Icing on Kings with 14:40 left.

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The Kings’ success is aided by the fact they’ve killed 15 of 16 power plays in the playoffs.

If Quick gets a win tonight, he’ll break the team record of 26 by Kelly Hrudey.

Kopitar gets a clear shot, can’t convert as the final period of regulation opens with the Kings in a continued power play.

Voynov collects a face-off pass, fires and scores for a 2-0 Kings’ lead less than a minute into third.

All the more sweet for the home team, the Kings’ Trevor Lewis beat Sharks captain Thornton on the face-off.

Mike Richards dishes a nice pass to Carter, who’s denied.

End of second period: Kings 1, Sharks 0

On the goal, Kopitar was set up to Niemi’s right in front of the goal and followed a shot right into the net. Clifford and Scuderi assisted.

Burns tries a shot on Quick. Galiardi is called for interference, pushing Quick with 1:10 remaining.

The Kings are on the power play. Mike Richards tries a shot, can’t get it in. Time elapses.

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Justin Williams of the Kings brings the puck down ice and makes a nice pass on goal. The Sharks rally back, Patrick Marleau pressuring Quick heavily with a shot and follow that stands as the Sharks’ toughest threat yet. Quick kept the puck out, but Kyle Clifford was called for a charging penalty with 8:41 left.

The Kings get a short-handed chance by captain Dustin Brown as he’s knocked to the ice, but Niemi spreads to stop it. Mike Richards interrupts another Sharks’ run.

Then, San Jose’s Jason Demers slams Regehr into the boards, getting a penalty with 6:36 left.

San Jose is maintaining its own toughness to kill this penalty, Marleau bringing the puck down ice, passing to Couture for a big shot that frightened the home fans.

Jeff Carter had an open shot on a wraparound at the 4:00 minute mark, but officials ruled it a no-goal on ice with Niemi defending. A review is pending.

Brad Richardson of the Kings tries a shot knocked down by a defenseman.

There’s a scuffle between the benches.

Voynov tries a good shot as the pressure builds.

Finally, Kopitar breaks through, scoring with 1:52 left in the period.

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The Kings are showing why they’ve won 12 consecutive home games even if it is scoreless still. They’ve out-hit San Jose 29-14.

Dustin Penner grabs two Sharks when there’s a convergence at the net following a Mike Richards shot.

A long Muzzin shot is grabbed, another face-off in front of Niemi coming. San Jose wins it.

San Jose captain Joe Thornton steals a pass, but the Kings send the puck away and march down ice. To no avail again.

San Jose’s Tommy Wingels and a teammate try shots, Quick covers.

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Kopitar blasts a shot wide as the game resumes.

A Muzzin blue-line shot is knoked down by San Jose’s Niemi.

Robyn Regehr takes a shot that Niemi gloves. The disparity in pressure is wide in the Kings’ advantage.

Joe Pavelski of the Sharks takes a rare shot for the visitors.

Icing on the Kings but the face-off is swept away.

Scoreless still with 15:40 left.

End of first period: Kings 0, Sharks 0

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter tells NBC Sports he’s pleased with the pressure and aggression his defending Stanley Cup champions are playing with, but wants to clean up the face-offs.

The Kings have out-hit San Jose 19-8. Definitely a different affair than Game 4. The Kings came to play from the opening bell. Still no score with 4:58 left.

Slava Voynov fires in a long shot, Carter tries and fails to follow. Shots and face-offs are dead even.

Dustin Penner tried a sneaky shot in traffic, it gets knocked down.

Icing on San Jose, speaks to the pressure the Sharks are under.

A Jake Muzzin wrister is deflected wide of the net, then Niemi covers more significant pressure with Greene, Muzzin and Kopitar smacking their sticks at the goalie.

A long shot by San Jose’s Andrew Desjardins is gloved by Quick, who has been treated kindly in this one thus far.

The teams are going back and forth, battling even for a shot. Voynov gets off one — high. A Clifford shot is deflected.

Niemi stops another by the Kings’ Justin Williams after a crisp Kopitar pass. Kings lead on shots 9-6.

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Penner gets a steal on the power play. Defenseman Drew Doughty of the Kings flips the puck off ice to burn seconds.

The power play is dead.

Rob Scuderi of the Kings has a shot stopped by Niemi. The Sharks have out-shot the Kings 6-4.

Mike Richards and Jeff Carter of the Kings pressure Niemi.

Anze Kopitar of the Kings had a great look up close, but just missed.

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Game 5 is underway at Staples Center.

The Kings have come out physical, especially defenseman Matt Greene bashing into San Jose’s TJ Galiardi, and both teams have pressured the opposing goalies, Jonathan Quick of the Kings and Antti Niemi of San Jose.

Dustin Penner of the Kings imposes his will, taking a puck to the net. No shot.

Brad Stuart of the Sharks just bashed Kyle Clifford of the Kings.

No score through five minutes.

Jeff Carter of the Kings has been hit with a boarding penalty with 14:32 left.

PREGAME

The Kings and San Jose Sharks have each won their two home games in this NHL Western Conference semifinal series, and as Game 5 at Staples Centers nears at 7:30 tonight, the home team’s emphasis is on a fast start.

Coach Darryl Sutter made Thursday morning’s team skate mandatory as an answer to being out-shot 15-3 in the first period of Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Sharks at HP Pavilion. The Kings lost Game 3 in overtime, and trailed by a goal before winning Game 2 in the final two minutes.

Sutter told Times columnist Helene Elliott Thursday he wants the Kings to fare better against the Sharks’ first two lines.

“I think it’s based on the top guys again,” Sutter said. “You look at it, especially their top two lines early in games have been really good and we’ve had to sort of lead into that.”

Elliott wrote, “the lines Sutter came up with in practice on Wednesday in an effort to awaken the Kings’ offense stayed the same in Thursday’s morning skate, meaning it’s likely those combinations will be together, at least initially.

He had rugged winger Kyle Clifford with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams, Dustin Penner on the left side with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown on the right with Dwight King and Trevor Lewis, and Brad Richardson on the left with Colin Fraser and Tyler Toffoli. The defense pairs looked to be the same: Rob Scuderi-Slava Voynov; Robyn Regehr-Drew Doughty, and Jake Muzzin-Matt Greene. That leaves Keaton Ellerby and Alec Martinez as extras.”

Asked how Clifford will mesh with his more skillful linemates, Sutter had a funny answer: “Ask me at 10:15 or later.” He’d be better able to evaluate the trio after the game.

“It’s really not a question I can answer… They played together a little bit. It’s not really anything to do with Kyle, right? We need guys to step their games up.”

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