Game Previews

Kings-Sharks Game 3 Preview

Having preserved home ice advantage, the Kings head to the Shark Tank up 2-0 and hoping to keep the victories rolling.

Time: 6.00 PM

TV: RDS, TSN, NBC Sports Network

Enemy reading: Fear the Fin

Previous series coverage: Preview | Game 1 coverage | Game 2 recap

Sharks (projected) lineup:

Marleau-Couture-Pavelski
Galiardi-Thornton-Burns
Sheppard-Gomez-Wingels
Kearns-Desjardins-Kennedy

Vlasic-Braun
Irwin-Boyle
Hannan-Stuart

Niemi

Injured: Burish, Havlat; Scratched: Demers, Hamilton, Oleksuk, Pelech, Stalberg, Acolatse, Demelo, Petrecki, Tennyson

Kings (projected) lineup:

Brown-Kopitar-Williams
King-Richards-Carter
Penner-Richardson-Lewis
Nolan-Fraser-Toffoli

Regehr-Doughty
Muzzin-Voynov
Martinez-Scuderi

Quick

Injured: Mitchell, Greene, Clifford, Stoll (THANK, RAFFI); Scratched: the Manchester Monarchs

Game notes:

The Kings got their sixth straight victory on Thursday night, but they have yet to play a great, truly dominating game during these playoffs. Not every playoff game, or series, is going to be pretty, but I can't be the only one who's a little concerned that they're scraping out quite a few of these wins. The Sharks penalty kill collapsed late in the game, and the Kings certainly can't rely on that happening again. I have full faith that this team can take this series, but I remain cautious about their prospects in general.
That being said, they did what they had to do at home, and they still haven't lost at Staples Center since March. That's pretty neat!
Tyler Toffoli: whatta kid. Such a great game from him on Thursday, and an awesome glimpse of what is (we hope, obviously) ahead for him in his NHL career.
I don't anticipate/see any news about lineup changes for either team, although the Sharks re-iterated that Jason Demers is approaching game readiness and will be "an option" very soon.
Prediction: Kings win after I hold a prayer circle for Anze Kopitar's face. Raffi Torres probably kicks a puppy in the press box.