Kings Vs. Sharks, Game 2: Doughty Dominates As Los Angeles Ties The Series

The Los Angeles Kings got a four-point night from defenseman Drew Doughty, a shutout from goaltender Jonathan Quick, and evened up their Western Conference Quarterfinal series with the San Jose Sharks at 1-1, getting a 4-0 victory in Game 2, and heading back to home ice for games Tuesday and Thursday.

Los Angeles, who did have a power play goal in Game 1, got their first shot on the power play when Ben Eager got called for slashing at 11:26. They did once again tonight. Drew Doughty faked a shot, and sent it cross-ice to Jack Johnson, who simply fired one, got a screen in front from Ryan Smyth, and it went past Antii Niemi at 12:13. Los Angeles is now 2-for-3 in the series on the power play, after not having it be a team strength in the regular season.

After a solid shift on offense, the Sharks found themselves on the kill again. Ryan Clowe took an offensive zone penalty, getting taken off for an elbow at 13:50. Late in the power play - with :08 seconds remaining on it - Ryan Smyth made a terrific pass to the slot, where he found Drew Doughty. Doughty drilled it, and the Kings are 3-for-4 on the power play in the series, and up 2-0 on the Sharks in this game.

Drew Doughty struck again late in the second. The Kings came up four-abreast on a rush, with Doughty looking to throw one in front, but had it blocked back to him. He then retreated to the point, waited, and then blasted one through a screen and it got by Niemi. That’s three goals on 15 shots on Niemi, though hardly his fault. The first three Kings goals all came from defensemen.

Overall, the second belonged to Jonathan Quick. He’s had great rebound control, but still managed to make 34 saves on the Sharks tonight. He’s looked cool, calm and collected, he’s just getting more support from both his offense and defense here in Game 2. He’s certainly out-played Niemi in the series so far.

Dustin Penner went off at 1:00 of the third period, but again, San Jose went down quietly. They are now 0-for-7 on the man advantage in the series. The battle of the Los Angeles penalty kill vs. the San Jose power play, both top five in their respective categories early this season, has been won easily by the Kings so far, and the same on the other end, where both teams were in the bottom ten of the league.

The Kings put it away a little bit later. Brad Richardson and the Kings’ third line got to work on the Thornton line for the Sharks. He swung a pass in front for Kyle Clifford, and he buried. The 20-year old got his first goal of his playoff career, and made it 4-0 at 4:52. Doughty got an assists, giving him two goals and two assists for the night, tying a Kings single-game record for playoff points by a defenseman, something Paul Coffey did against Vancouver in 1992.