Anaheim dropped game 7 against Detroit depriving us of the privilege of calling California the hockey capital of the world for yet another season. That means the Kings will now get the opportunity to settle a score against the Sharks. San Jose was the last team to oust the Kings from the Stanley Cup playoffs in what was a hard-fought yet heartbreaking loss for a Kings team that was without Anze Kopitar. L.A. will look to avenge that defeat and continue on in their quest to be the first franchise to repeat since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings.
The Kings and Sharks split the season series 2-2, with one of San Jose’s wins coming on a shootout. San Jose has been playing well of late and will be well rested after sweeping Vancouver. The biggest surprise of the first round may very will have been the fact that Raffi Torres made it through a series without getting suspended.
We’ll get the schedule and broadcast info up as soon as humanly possible. UPDATE: Per LA Kings Insider, the series starts at 7:00 PM PT at Staples on Tuesday, May 14. In the meantime, why not enjoy highlights from a classic Kings-Sharks match-up from 2007 (Matt Moulson with his first NHL goal. Jean-Sebastien Aubin coming up with some huge saves! Ladislav Nagy!):