A fourth consecutive Pacific Division title went to the San Jose
Sharks Monday night after the hosts turned back Pacific Division
rival Los Angeles 6-1 at soldout HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE
A fourth consecutive Pacific Division title went to the San Jose Sharks Monday night after the hosts turned back Pacific Division rival Los Angeles 6-1 at soldout HP Pavilion.
San Jose reached six goals for the sixth game this year and fourth in the past nine games.
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The first-round pairings for the Stanley Cup Playoffs will not be announced until Sunday night, April 10. Depending on San Jose’s race with Detroit for the second seed in the Western Conference, the Sharks will host either the sixth or seventh seed of the conference in a best-of-seven series starting next week.
The Sharks have three regular season games left, beginning Wednesday in Anaheim against the Ducks. After playing in Phoenix Friday, the Sharks host the Coyotes Saturday night. The Kings, who could have clinched a playoff spot with a win against San Jose, have three games to play.
San Jose put the Kings in a 2-0 hole after one period. Although out-shot 12-10, the Sharks drilled two shots past Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick in the opening 20 minutes.
The Sharks went right to work on the third shift of the night. Joe Pavelski’s line made it 1-0 with 1:47 gone. Pavelski won an offensive zone face-off, but King rookie defenseman Alex Martinez stole the puck and tried to clear the zone. Torrey Mitchell kept the puck in the zone at the right point before firing a 30-footer on net. The long rebound went to an unmarked Pavelski at the high slot. The centerman’s slapshot flew past Quick’s shoulder for his 19th goal of the season and 12th in 28 games against the Kings.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s hard work to keep the puck in the King zone led to the second goal of the evening.
Vlasic pulled the puck away from the blueline at the left point before sliding the puck across the line to Pavelski. Kyle Wellwood controlled the puck along the right boards before pulling a pass across the ice to Vlasic at the top of the left circle. Vlasic had time to set up for a hard shot inside the left post for his fourth goal of the season, 18th in 386 NHL games.
San Jose needed only six shots on net in the second period to chase Quick from between the pipes at the 5:33 mark. Quick left the game with 34 wins on the campaign, a number matched in the game by San Jose’s Antti Niemi.
Los Angeles moved within one goal momentarily in the second period when Michal Handzus poked in a short rebound of a Matt Greene shot from the left point at 1:57.
San Jose needed 22 seconds to regain the two-goal advantage. Vlasic’s hard shot from the left point skimmed off Wellwood and inside the left post past a screened Quick.
When Dan Boyle turned a Joe Thornton assist into a 30-foot wrister past Quick, the Kings went with goalie Jonathan Bernier for the rest of the game.
Thornton reached his 999th career point at 9:20 of the second when he buried a 10-foot rebound of a Patrick Marleau shot. Thornton’s 20th goal of the year marked his 11th straight season with 20 or more goals, trailing only Jarome Iginla (12) in that category.
Devin Setoguchi netted his 26th goal of the year with a 15-footer in the slot off a feed from Marleau to leave it 6-1 Sharks after two periods.
San Jose finished with a 35-32 edge in shots on net.
