Sharks hoping Kings won’t put them in deeper hole
SAN JOSE -- The answer is: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975 New York Islanders and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers.
The question is: Which NHL teams have overcome 3-0 deficits to win a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series?
The San Jose Sharks, who lost to the Kings in the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal, don’t want to be in the position of attempting that kind of difficult comeback. Well aware of the perils of falling so far behind, the Sharks say they’re intent on cutting the Kings’ series lead to 2-1 Saturday night at HP Pavilion so they won’t have to face a daunting 0-3 deficit.
“We know we have to take care of business at home,†Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said. “We need this one. This is the one we need right now and it’s the only one that matters because that is a huge difference.â€
Pavelski said the Kings’ late rally for a 4-3 victory on Thursday “was a tough loss. But you rebound. You understand it’s a series. It’s the playoffs. Just because it’s a tough loss doesn’t mean we’re not going to come ready to work. And that’s been our main focus down the stretch: establish our work ethic and compete and skate, do all those little hard things that make you successful.â€
Pavelski said the Sharks did a number of things right in Game 2 that they hope to continue.
“We went to the net pretty hard and aggressive and guys shot the puck hard and we found some holes that way,†he said. “And second chances went in for us. Those were some of the good areas. Faceoffs were good, too.â€
The Sharks won 44 of 65 faceoffs, or 68%, in Game 2.
Veteran defenseman Dan Boyle noted that the Kings had rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues, so a comeback by the Sharks in this series is possible. Especially at home, where they were 17-2-5 this season.
“I think for the first two games we’ve done a lot of good things. Aside from winning, I think our effort’s been pretty good. Our battle level, everything’s been pretty good,†Boyle said.
“Obviously, you don’t want to go down 3-0 …. Home’s been good to us all year. That doesn’t guarantee a win, but we obviously need a win tonight.â€
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