The Kings put plenty of pressure on the Sharks, taking 30 shots over the first two periods of the game. Despite the number of shots, many quality-scoring chances and keeping possession of the puck in the Sharks zone most of the time, San Jose netminder Antti Niemi kept them off the board.
“We had a lot of great chances in the first and second but nothing was going in,” said Brad Richardson.
In the final 20 minutes, L.A. did not let up, taking less shots but still controlling the puck and, at last, getting the results they desired. They scored four goals on seven shots in the third for the win.
“We stuck with it and that’s always a good thing. Sometimes, it can go the other way; you get a lot of chances, and they end up scoring. But Quicky was great. We got that first one and kind of went from there,” Richardson continued.
“We were peppering [Niemi] all night. He was making some big saves through traffic,” said Brown. “When you get that many shots and you’re testing a goalie that often, when we got that first goal, maybe it broke his will a little bit.”
2:08 into the third, Brad Richardson was hit and brought down by two Sharks. He quickly got back up, regained the puck and passed it to Trevor Lewis, who put past Niemi to open the scoring. Richardson got the lone assist on Lewis’s second of the season. Slightly more than a minute later, former Shark Marco Sturm scored his first goal as a King, also his first this season. The helpers went to Anze Kopitar and Matt Greene.
“I’m just embarrassed. It was a terrible effort….A lot of us took the night off and against a team as good as that, it can’t happen,” said San Jose’s Dan Boyle.
L.A....
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
