Programming note: Sharks-Kings coverage starts tonight at 7pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California
Series schedule
The Sharks lead the best-of-seven series, three-games-to-one.
Game 1 – Sharks 4, Kings 3
Game 2 – Sharks 2, Kings 1
Game 3 – Kings 2, Sharks 1 (OT)
Game 4 – Sharks 3, Kings 2
Game 5 – Tonight, Sharks @ Kings, 7:30 p.m.
Game 6* – Sunday, Kings @ Sharks, TBD
Game 7* – April 26, Sharks @ Kings, TBD
* - if necessary
Last game
Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau all scored on the power play, and the Sharks held on for a 3-2 win at SAP Center in Game 4 on Wednesday. San Jose finished 3-for-4 with a man advantage, while the Kings were 0-for-2. Martin Jones made 26 saves in net.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Brent Burns. Picking up right where he left off in the regular season, Burns has been firing pucks on the net from all over the ice, and leads all players in the series with 18 shots on goal. He put the Sharks on the board with a power play marker in the second period, and later assisted on Marleau’s score. He’s tied with Joe Pavelski for the series lead in scoring with five points (2g, 3a).
Kings: Luke Schenn. The Kings need at least one of their defensemen to step up, and in Game 4 is was Schenn. He assisted on the Kings’ first goal with a blast from the point that nicked Trevor Lewis and scored the second goal outright. Although he took a bad penalty in the second period, he’s been one of the more physical players in the series with 18 hits.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Joonas Donskoi – Logan Couture – Joel Ward
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Melker Karlsson
Nick Spaling – Chris Tierney – Tommy Wingels
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Roman Polak
Martin Jones
James Reimer
Kings
Dwight King – Anze Kopitar – Marian Gaborik
Milan Lucic – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Tanner Pearson – Vincent Lecavalier – Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford – Trevor Lewis – Kris Versteeg
Brayden McNabb – Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin – Luke Schenn
Rob Scuderi – Jamie McBain
Jonathan Quick
Jhonas Enroth
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.50
Goals-against per game: 2.00
Power play: 27.8 percent
Penalty kill: 76.9 percent
Kings
Goals per game: 2.00
Goals-against per game: 2.50
Power play: 23.1 percent
Penalty kill: 72.2 percent
Injuries
Sharks: None.
Kings: Alec Martinez (undisclosed), Jordan Nolan (herniated disc) and Matt Greene (shoulder) are out.
Sharks playoff record when…
The Sharks are 12-16 all-time in Game 5 of a playoff series, and 3-11 at home.
When leading a series three-games-to-one, the Sharks are 9-1 all-time. When leading a series three-games-to-two, they are 7-3 all-time.
The Sharks are 13-11 all-time against the Kings in the playoffs.
Odds and ends
*Joe Pavelski is tied for second in the NHL with four playoff goals. It’s the third time he’s scored at least four goals in a playoff series.
*Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is averaging 31:02 of ice time. He’s scoreless in the series with a minus-three rating.
*Paul Martin leads the Sharks in blocked shots with 15. Doughty leads the series with 17.
Quotable
“It’s nice to win at home in front of the fans. It was a loud building, the way it’s been here for years. Obviously this year it hasn’t been like this, but it was nice to get the win in front of these fans.” – Logan Couture, after Game 4
