The two teams have faced each other 110 times through the years
and loud chants of
”
Beat L.A., Beat L.A.
”
have urged on the Sharks since that initial clash at the Cow
Palace on Nov. 19, 1991
— a game San Jose lost 3-2 in overtime. But when the Sharks and
Los Angeles Kings square off at HP Pavilion as Stanley Cup playoff
foes for the first time Thursday night, expect whatever Pacific
Division rivalry has developed the past two decades to be amped up
to a new level.
SAN JOSE
The two teams have faced each other 110 times through the years and loud chants of “Beat L.A., Beat L.A.” have urged on the Sharks since that initial clash at the Cow Palace on Nov. 19, 1991 — a game San Jose lost 3-2 in overtime.
But when the Sharks and Los Angeles Kings square off at HP Pavilion as Stanley Cup playoff foes for the first time Thursday night, expect whatever Pacific Division rivalry has developed the past two decades to be amped up to a new level.
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“It’s in the postseason that rivalries are really born,” Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray said this week, noting that familiarity is what fuels competitive fires, and these two teams have a head start as division rivals. “You don’t expect anything less in this series.”
Coincidentally, this particular hockey rivalry is about to heat up just as a pair of baseball teams from Los Angeles and San Francisco are trying to cool theirs down.
And while nobody expects any carry-over from the inflammatory situation created by the beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium, Sharks coach Todd McLellan does say that a relevant message was delivered when players addressed the issue at AT&T Park this week.
“We want our fans to continue to be loud and noisy and cheer for us and get upset with us and do all the things that they normally do,” McLellan said. “But we don’t want them to cross the line. I think both cities understand that.”
This matchup has at least one rivalry factor beyond geography.
Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi held that same job for seven seasons in San Jose before being fired in 2003. Three current Sharks — Patrick Marleau, Ryane Clowe and Murray — were drafted by Lombardi, but Sharks development coach Mike Ricci, who played for San Jose during the Lombardi era, didn’t see any extra incentive on either side.
“That was a long time ago,” Ricci said. “This is about the players on the ice.”
Those players say things should ratchet up quickly.
“When you’re playing in a seven-game series, it only takes a game — it doesn’t take even that long, it takes a shift or two — before you have disdain for your opponent,” Sharks right wing Jamal Mayers said. “And that’s what makes the games special.”
Defenseman Dan Boyle said the first five minutes of any playoff series is often the fastest hockey of a series as players are excited to get started. One challenge, he added, is keeping intensity high at all times — without getting nailed with a penalty.
Officials, Boyle said, “usually let a little bit more go, so you’ll see pushing and shoving after whistles … sticks here, sticks there. Guys try to take each other’s top guys out. Their guys will be doing it to our guys and vice versa. It’s the usual.”
Neither team has a reputation for thuggery, and the Kings also lack an extreme instigator along the lines of Dallas pest Steve Ott, someone who can rile both the opposition and the crowd.
But Los Angeles and the Sharks both have plenty of players who can deliver the kind of solid checks that ignite playoff passions on the ice and in the crowd.
Murray, for example, has a well-earned reputation as the most dangerous Shark because of his ability to level opponents. But the Kings have two players who registered more hits than the 203 credited to Murray — captain Dustin Brown, whose 300 were third highest in the NHL this season, and defenseman Matt Greene with 243.
“They don’t really have one of those rat players that chirps or anything like that,” Murray said. “But Dustin Brown runs guys and plays hard. He plays honest, but it’s hard hockey.”
That same description also fits San Jose left wing Ryane Clowe, whose 153 hits are second highest on the Sharks.
Clowe sees several candidates in the Los Angeles lineup as potential “get under your skin” players, including forwards Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford. Anyone on the Sharks fourth line of Scott Nichol, Jamal Mayer and Ben Eager could do the same — as well as Clowe, who feigned disinterest in stirring things up.
“I’ll have my mouth shut the whole series, I’m sure,” he said.
While the Sharks and Kings rivalry has been relatively tame over the years, it has had its moments. One of HP Pavilion’s wildest night was the Feb. 5, 1997, game between the two teams in which 11 different players — including enforcers Andrei Nazarov of the Sharks and Matt Johnson of the Kings — earned fighting, misconduct or match penalties. Down by two goals, the Sharks came back to win 3-2 after the mayhem.
Fights, of course, are rare in playoff hockey. But four players — Boyle, Murray, Clifford and Kings forward Brad Richardson — did mix it up late in San Jose’s 6-1 victory on April 4, the last time the two teams met.
“I don’t see that happening again,” Boyle said, smiling, “but we’ll be ready for it if it needs to happen.”
— Story by David Pollak, San Jose Mercury News
