Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Kings come out firing, Kings slow down and take some penalties, Kings fall behind, Kings throw everything but the kitchen sink at the net down the stretch. That formula has actually resulted in some fun overtime wins this season, but Martin Jones didn’t allow that to happen in the third.
We’re used to the Thornton-Marleau combo doing damage, but tonight, it was two Joes: Thornton-Pavelski, with a side of Brent Burns. The three scored all five goals and got all four primary assists for the Sharks (the only unassisted goal being the Burns empty-netter). San Jose weathered 21 first-period shots and two goals by Tyler Toffoli, with a quick response at the end of the second setting the stage for Pavelski to score on consecutive power plays.
More to come in the recap, including how Trevor Lewis, Nick Shore, and Dustin Brown were thisclose to being tonight’s heroes.