Sharks jump Kings, 2-1, to even playoff series

San Jose 2, Kings 1 (end of regulation)

Justin Williams of the Kings had a good look at a crossing pass but it slid by him.

There’s a face-off in the Sharks’ zone. The Kings take a couple shots, nothing substantive.

Patrick Marleau of the Sharks collects a looses puck and shoots, it’s saved with 1:49 left.

BOX SCORE: San Jose 2, Kings 1

With less than a minute remaining, the Kings have an empty net.

The Sharks clear it, not to the net.

Brown and Kopitar trying their best.

For naught.

The series is tied 2-2, the Sharks beat the Kings 2-1.

San Jose 2, Kings 1 (3:06 left in third period)

Less than five minutes remain.

Couture stole a pass but his shot on goal was wide.

Richardson collects a loose puck, Carter misses. Rob Scuderi can’t finish a follow for the Kings.

The winded Sharks take a timeout with 3:06 left.

San Jose 2, Kings 1 (10:08 left in third period)

Brad Richardson of the Kings is flattened by Brent Burns on a short-handed effort.

Burns commits a boarding penalty, rocking Kopitar into the wall with 11:46 left in the third.

A blast by Jeff Carter is followed three times by Mike Richards and the Kings have pulled within 2-1 with 10:08 remaining.

San Jose 2, Kings 0 (14:42 left in third period)

Thornton has been a beast, winning nine of 12 face-offs, adding two takeaways at the so-called “Shark Tank.”

The Sharks have out-shot the Kings, 21-9, and the Kings have been scoreless for more than 90 minutes.

The Kings are doing their best to keep the puck on the Sharks’ end, but their ability to get a shot on goal is repeatedly thwated. A shot goes wide, Niemi deflects another.

Less than 15 minutes remain.

The Sharks charge at Quick and Matt Greene commits high sticking on Logan Couture with 14:42 remaining, so the Sharks, up 2-0, now are on the power play.

San Jose 2, Kings 0 (end of second period)

The Hannan penalty is for interference, his stick causing Kopitar’s fall.

Kopitar and Muzzin swarm the net, Muzzin misses an open net, shooting over the goal.

That’s the Kings’ best chance. The penalty is killed off.

San Jose 2, Kings 0 (3:02 left in second period)

Marleau charges Quick, the goalie makes the save with a rapid left hand. Quick has 19 saves. The Sharks have had 11 chances to the Kings’ two so far this period.

The Kings’ Slava Voynov had a good look inside six minutes but it didn’t strike the net.

Less than five minutes remaining.

The Kings get a steal near mid-ice, but can’t turn it into a good shot.

Kopitar is knocked down with 3:02 left and Hannan is headed for the penalty box to set up a Kings’ power play.

San Jose 2, Kings 0 (7:23 left in the second period)

Anze Kopitar of the Kings gets a shot on Niemi.

A Kings goal is negated, the officials ruling they had blown a whistle as the puck trickled past the Kings’ Dustin Penner under Niemi’s legs into the net. Kings Coach Darryl Sutter looks peeved on the bench after replays indicate the goal should have been allowed.

The Sharks’ second goal is credited to Couture after a review.

Sharks wing TJ Galiardi gets an interference penaltry after colliding with Quick with 11:27 left in the second.

A Carter shot is knocked away by a defenseman.

Kopitar charges, Niemi pushes it away. Hannan hits Clifford near the Sharks’ goal.

The penalty is dead.

Sutter says on NBC Sports, “They’re spending way too much time in our zone. … The Thornton line has taken control.”

San Jose 2, Kings 0 (16:05 left in second period)

The Sharks out-shot the Kings 15-3 in the first period, and the Kings haven’t thrown a puck at the net since the 10:02 mark of the first. The injury loss of Kings center Jarret Stoll is being felt.

Teams leading after one period have won 23 of 32 games this postseason.

Dustin Brown is back, but his effort at Niemi is soft. The Sharks race down ice and force Quick to cover the puck again.

Two Doughty shots are blocked, as is a Robyn Regehr shot.

The Kings are hit with a penalty, Fraser again for roughing 3:14 into the second.

San Jose leads 2-0 with 16:05 left in the second when defenseman Dan Boyle fires a blue-line, power-play shot that might have deflected off Couture past Quick to his left.

San Jose 1, Kings 0 (end of first period)

San Jose is on the power play again after Kings defenseman Drew Doughty slashes Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

San Jose’s Wingels blasts a shot off the crossbar past Quick’s left glove with eight seconds left in the power play. The power play is dead after three San Jose shots.

Thornton to Burns produces a hard shot that Quick knocks down.

The Kings are under barrage, power play or no.

San Jose 1, Kings 0 (5:00 left in first period)

San Jose Coach Todd Mclellan tells NBC Sports he likes his team’s energy around the net.

The Sharks’ Tim Kennedy has returned to the lineup and provides a nice pass to the center that no teammate can touch.

The Kings’ Dwight King lays down a big hit on James Sheppard.

There’s a penalty on the Kings’ Colin Fraser for hooking with 6:41 left.

A Marleau shot strikes Quick’s stick and sails out of play.

Trevor Lewis of the Kings clears a Burns pass. Then a hard, low shot from Burns is saved by Quick. Quick delivers a left-handed punch to San Jose’s Tommy Wingels.

San Jose 1, Kings 0 (10:00 left in first period)

On the goal that made it 1-0, Burns took one shot, got the puck quickly back to him and fired the shot past Quick.

The Kings are out-hitting the Sharks 11-5 early.

Carter blocks a blue-line shot by San Jose defenseman Scott Hannan. Thornton, already with an assist, is proving to be the Kings’ nemesis with sharp passing near the goal, and going 4-for-4 on face-offs.

A Pavelski shot bounces up high, Quick grabs it for a stoppage. The Sharks are leading, 7-3, in shots.

Halfway through the first.

Hannan blasts a shot that strikes the side of the goal to Quick’s left. The goalie is under tremendous pressure here. Quick collects another big shot.

San Jose 1, Kings 0 (13:51 left in first period)

Kings captain Dustin Brown was struck in the head during the first minute by the inadvertant elbow of Sharks center Patrick Marleau, leaving for the bench area.

The Kings welcomed left wing Kyle Clifford back from injury in this game, after missing four games.

Logan Couture, who scored the Game 3 game-winning goal, had a good follow chance after a shot by Sharks Joe Pavelski.

But Quick, leading all playoff goalies with a 1.60 goals-against average, stuffed the shots and stood up to another mass rush inside 16 minutes.

A Jeff Carter shot is gloved by Sharks goalie Antti Niemi, who has a solid 2.06 goals-against average. The Sharks have won seven of eight face-offs.

With 13:51 left in the first, San Jose’s Brent Burns gives the Sharks a 1-0 lead after a steal by captain Joe Thornton.

Pregame

The defending Stanley Cup champion Kings have an opportunity tonight to take a 3-1 series lead home to Staples Center Thursday with a victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the San Jose Sharks at San Jose’s HP Pavilion where the puck is about about to drop.

The Times will provide frequent updates of the game action here at starting at 7:15 p.m.

Earlier today, The Times’ Helene Elliott reported from San Jose that an extra day’s rest between Saturday’s 2-1 overtime victory by the Sharks and Tuesday night allowed both teams to recover.

Elliott noted the Kings returned to Los Angeles after the loss, then came back to San Jose Monday night.

Reported Elliott: The two-day break in the series gave players on both sides a welcome chance to heal some of the bumps and bruises they’ve accumulated in the first three games. Sharks Coach Todd McLellan said center Logan Couture, who appeared to injure his leg during Saturday’s game but came back to score the winner, “looked good” in the morning skate and will be ready to go. However, winger Martin Havlat has been ruled out because of a lower-body injury.

McLellan said he was still toying with the idea of playing seven defensemen and 11 forwards and using defenseman Jason Demers as a kind of swingman who could also play up front.

Tommy Wingels, one of the Sharks’ most physical forwards, said that with the top two lines of each team almost canceling each other out, the bottom-six forwards must contribute offensively. There is, he reminded reporters, one big obstacle: Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who has a postseason-leading 1.60 goals-against average and a second-ranked .947 save percentage in nine games.

“We’re trying,” said Wingels, who is expected to play on the third line with Scott Gomez and James Sheppard. “Quick’s playing well but we are getting our chances and that’s what you want as a line. The top two lines are battling pretty hard, so it might come down to the third and fourth lines chipping in, either on our side or their side. Then you just try to affect the game in a positive way.”

He also said he didn’t expect Quick to still be emotional after Quick unleashed a tirade at the on-ice officials at the end of Game 3 on Saturday.

“There’s frustration there. When you lose a game you’re frustrated,” Wingels said. “You put so much effort in. When you don’t get the success you want, for whatever reasons, you become frustrated. I’m sure that was the case for him.

“With the competitive guy he is, I’m sure he’s champing at the bit to get the game started tonight and get the chance to get the win again. I’m sure he’ll be ready.”

ALSO:

Darryl Sutter is mum on Kyle Clifford’s possible return

Kings vs. Sharks: Time off allowed some injuries to heal

Sharks hope they can finally live up Stanley Cup expectations