Los Angeles Kings Tickets

Kings take 3-0 lead in Western Conference Finals

The Los Angeles Kings are now just one win away from from taking the Western Conference Finals and the chance to fight for the Stanley Cup after beating the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 on Thursday night.

Los Angeles faced its first serious challenge in so many weeks when Daymond Langkow scored on a breakaway in the second period to score the first lead of Phoenix in the series.

But the Kings stood their ground.

2.07 minutes later, Anze Kopitar tied the game with a breakaway goal and Dwight King hit the winning goal early into the third period to take the Kings nearer their first  Stanley Cup final in 19 years.

Jonathan Quick made 18 saves in the game to improve their run to 11-1 in the postseason that they entered as dark horse.

Meanwhile, Mike Smith played a good night with 26 saves for the Coyotes but failed to block the winning shot of King in the third period.

The Phoenix Coyotes now have to win four straight to have a shot at the Stanley Cup.

Kings take 3-0 series lead against Blues

It looks like the Kings are performing at a consistent level which we have not seen at all in the regular season.

Playing like a team on fire, the Los Angeles Kings shut down the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 series lead in the semifinals of the Western Conference playoffs.

This coming from a team that a few weeks before barely made it into the playoffs. Now they are just one win away from the Conference Finals.

Mike Richards scored the first power play goal for Los Angeles before setting up Drew Doughty’s winning goal with 11:48 left to play. Jonathan Quick made 18 saves for the Kings.

Barely making it to the playoffs, the Kings have played with much precision, passion, and consistency as that of a championship team since entering the playoffs – eliminating the top-seeded and defending champion Vancouver Canucks in 5 games.

Chris Stewart scored both goals while Brian Elliot stopped 18 shots for the Blues who must accomplish a fourth comeback from a 0-3 deficit to advance to the finals.

Game 4 is on Sunday at the Staples Center.

Canucks eliminated in 5 games, Kings to face Blues

With a quick flick of his wrists, Jarret Stoll sent the Los Angeles Kings into the second round against the St. Louis Blues and sent the Vancouver Canucks into the offseason a lot sooner than expected because they topped the NHL regular season.

Stoll beat Cory Schneider in overtime to give the Kings a 2-1 win against the Canucks on Sunday night. Stoll scored on a turnover at Vancouver blue line with his shot going through the top-left corner of Schneider’s blocker.

Brad Richardson ties it for Los Angeles in the third period as Jonathan Quick made 26 saves.

Henrik Sedin opened the offense for Vancouver with a power play goal in the first while Schneider made 35 saves in his third straight start.

It was a sad night for the Canucks who went into the playoffs as the NHL leader in regular season points for the second year in a row. They lost to Boston in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals last season. (AP)

Daniel Sedin returns, Canucks avoid being swept

Cory Schneider made 43 saves in his first career playoff victory including a crucial save on a third period penalty shot taken by Dustin Brown as the Vancouver Canucks avoided being swept by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs.

The returning Daniel Sedin ignited Vancouver’s power plays and the Canucks narrowly avoided being swept in the first round with a 3-1 victory over the Kings Wednesday night at the Staples Center. The Sedin twins combined for six shots while being on the ice for the three goals.

Schneider was on his second start in place of Roberto Luongo who lost the first two games in Vancouver. Daniel Sedin contributed an assist to a power play for a 2-for-3 after a dismal 0-for-14 in the first three games.

Anze Kopitar scored the only goal of the Kings in the first period.

Game 5 is set for Sunday night back in Vancouver.

Los Angeles Kings on a fairy-tale run?

It looks like the Los Angeles Kings finally have the chance of advancing to the second round of the playoffs this time around.

After two years of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the Kings are paving the way for a second round playoff appearance this season with the defeat of the Vancouver Canucks 1-0 Sunday night at the Staples Center for a 3-0 series lead. The Kings have a shot at closing out the series at home on Wednesday night.

Jonathan Quick made 41 saves for the Kings to earn his second career playoff shutout after making 10 in the regular season. Dustin Brown scored the only goal of the game on a long rebound with 13:30 left to play to earn his fourth goal in this playoff series against Vancouver.

The Canucks seem to be in control for most of the game and Cory Schneider (on his first start for the postseason) made 19 saves but gave up a rebound on Justin Williams’ shot which was converted by Brown.

Los Angeles Kings take 2-0 lead against Vancouver Canucks

The Los Angeles Kings continue their rampage against the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 Friday night. The Kings won 4-2 to secure a 2-0 lead over the Canucks behind the heroics of Dustin Brown.

Just two nights after hitting the Kings’ Game 1 win with an empty-net goal, Brown tied an NHL playoff record with two short-handed goals to once again help the Kings beat the Canucks to take the lead in the series. Dustin Brown became the 12th player to get two short-handed goals in the playoffs – Wayne Gretzky did it twice.

The Canucks had an off night as they went 0 for 5 on their power plays and even gave up goals to the advantage of the Kings.

Jannik Hansen and Samuel Pahlsson gave Vancouver their 2 goals.

Game 3 is at Los Angeles on Sunday night. Will the Kings take the lead for good? Or will the Canucks bounce back and regain the form that made them the top seed? Better catch this exciting game as the Canucks try to keep themselves from being buried in a 3-0 hole.

Kings Stun Canucks, Take Game 1

Dustin Penner of the Los Angeles Kings took the winning shot with 3:14 remaining in the their period on their win against the top seeded Vancouver Canucks in the opening game of the Western Conference quarterfinals on Wednesday night. The Kings won 4-2.

Coming into the quarterfinals, the Kings were considered as the underdogs, earning their playoff spot with three games left into the regular season.

Penner took advantage of a lucky bounce after Mike Richards’ pass to Jeff Carter bounced off his skate and went in Penner’s direction who then shot it past the Canuck’s goaltender with 3:14 remaining. Note that Dustin Penner has not scored a single goal in his last nine games.

Even though the Canucks finished first for the second straight season while the Kings literally clawed their way into the quarterfinals, it is a whole different ballgame now as everything can change once you know that you have a shot at the championship.

Stay tuned as the Kings and Canucks battle each other in Game 2 on Friday night in Vancouver.

Controversial Ending to Kings vs Sharks Game

The Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks played another game last night.  This one was hosted by the Kings in LA.  Another game between these two teams will be played in San Jose tomorrow.  Both the Kings and the Sharks have just squeezed into the playoffs, with the Dallas Stars haven been eliminated with their loss.

In a real thriller which resulted in a shootout which was won by the Sharks, there was also controversy.  With the score tied and only two minutes remaining in regulation, Shark’s forward Ryane Clowe, while seated on the bench, stuck out his stick to disrupt King’s forward Jarret Stoll who was skating fast along the side of the rink headed in Clow’s direction.  It was clearly interference on Clowe’s part, and much of the crowd had caught it.  However, no call was made and the officials let the play continue on.

The move resulted in the puck being dislodged from Stoll’s stick as he was breaking away for a goal.  Perhaps the move was just enough for the Sharks to force overtime.  No one will ever know.

In post game interviews, Ryane Clowe denies any wrong doing.  Let’s see how the Kings will react in their final game of the regular season a day after against the Sharks again.

Final San Jose Sharks Playoff Push

This year the San Jose Sharks have found themselves in a position they haven’t been too familiar with these pas several years.  There’s a strong possibility that they might not make the playoffs.  Winning the Western Conference Pacific Division the last four years, the Sharks were seen as many as favorites to repeat but have struggled due to teams getting better.  Currently there’s a logjam of teams vying for the eighth and last playoff spot.  Many of these teams are in the competitive Pacific Division and are separated by only a couple of games with but a few handful of regular season games remaining.

Dallas and San Jose played this past weekend and the two teams switched positions in standings with the Sharks winning.  The Sharks now occupy the last playoff spot.  Tonight the two teams will duke it out again.  Each team will certainly be playing their best as their playoff hopes hinge on a must win.

The San Jose Sharks have done fairly well against the Dallas Stars this year, accumulating a 4-1 record against them this season.  However, the last two games on schedule for the Sharks are against the Los Angeles Kings, which they’ve split the season series matchups so far.  The first game against the Kings will be in Los Angeles and the second game, which is also the final game of the regular season, will be in San Jose.

The final three games of the regular season for the San Jose Sharks should be very exciting to watch.  So much is on the line and every remaining game has huge playoff implications.  Watch a San Jose Sharks game live and see the team make a final push to get in.

Highlights from Last Sharks/Kings Game on 3/20/2012