It’s gamesmanship on for Kings and Sharks

Boos rained down from the Staples Center crowd as Anze Kopitar headed for the penalty box.

The Kings center had been whistled for tripping even though, on the replay, it appeared his stick had merely tapped San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton on the ankle.

Thornton might have been fouled or might simply have lost an edge, going down on his own. But this has been a Western Conference semifinal marked by gamesmanship.

Players have traded barbs, accusing each other of faking penalties. It’s nothing new -- the art of the dive is a hot topic in the NHL.

“Most players know how to sell a call,” said Eddie Olczyk, a former player and coach who now works as an NBC analyst. “You’ve got guys snapping their heads back, their hands go up.”

The formal term is “embellishment.” It is hockey’s version of flopping in basketball or collapsing to the pitch in soccer.

Maybe a forward crumples after incidental contact or a defenseman feels a stick whoosh past his face and lurches as if struck. Maybe there is a legitimate foul but the victim wants to ensure officials see it.

This week, Sharks forward TJ Galiardi accused Kings goalie Jonathan Quick of being overly dramatic when opponents brush past. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty shot back, calling Galiardi “the biggest diver on their team.”

“You can just watch three of his shifts and you’ll see how many times he dives,” Doughty said. “There’s been times where even the refs are telling him, just get up, because he’s diving so often.”

Not everyone considers embellishment a problem. Still, penalties have played a critical role in the Kings-Sharks series and there has been plenty of finger-pointing around the league this season.

Claude Julien, who coaches the Boston Bruins and Brad Marchand, a player with a reputation for diving, lashed out at the Montreal Canadians in early March.

“The embellishment embarrasses our game,” Julien said, adding: “Once we start calling those penalties for embellishment, maybe teams will stop doing it. But until we take charge of that, it’s going to be an issue.”

More recently, during the first round of the playoffs, the oft-criticized Vancouver Canucks complained about Thornton and forward Logan Couture of the Sharks.

“Couture, you can’t go near the guy,” Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa told reporters. “He snaps his head back. He flails. You touch him after the whistle, and he’s going to jump off the ice and throw himself into the glass.”

Players say the best fakers keep track of position, game situation and the way officials are calling penalties. Goalies, in particular, can take advantage of rules meant to protect them.

If they get hit, Olczyk said, “all of a sudden it’s a yard sale. Gloves and helmets come off.”

League executives have discussed stricter enforcement of Rule 64.2, which calls for a minor penalty when a player “attempts to draw a penalty by his actions.”

Olczyk suggests that when a player embellishes a legitimate foul, officials should penalize only the dive.

As for the Kings and Sharks, their squabbling took an ironic turn during Game 5 on Thursday night, officials sending Galiardi to the penalty box for interference after shoving Quick.

This time, no Sharks complained. But don’t be surprised if the bickering -- and some embellishment -- continues as the teams head to San Jose for Game 6 on Sunday.

Kings captain Dustin Brown figures it is all part of competing.

“It’s funny that they’re complaining and making comments,” he said. “Guys are going to do whatever they have to do to win games.”

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david.wharton@latimes.com

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