The only game from last night i didn't get to see in full but did manage to catch the highlights this morning.
I expected LA to come out hard and fast in this one to try and establish a lead that they could this time hold on to. After the high scoring in game 3 this one got off to a much quieter start and a 0-0 first period. It wasn't until the 2nd period that the scoreboard started to light up. Not to say that there weren't chances in the first, San Jose had well over a minute of 5 on 3 powerplay time and both netminders made smart saves. San Jose left the 1st peiod outshooting LA 13-9.
It was San Jose who took the lead 3.58 into the 2nd. Clowe came over the line and made a drop pass to Vlasic who fired the puck well wide into the corner. Clowe had skated to that side of the goal and picked the puck up off the boards, sweeping it towards goal and it somehow finding its way into the net via a deflection.
There was another soon after with Demers scoring at 5.12. Couture has his wrist shot from between the circles blocked infront by Martinez, the puck going straight back to his stick to allow him to backhand the puck over to an open Demers. He beat the sliding quick to make it 2-0.
It was 3-0 at 9.28, a 2nd of the game and 4th of the series for Clowe, this time on the powerplay. Couture it was with the shot again, this time it got through on Quick who made the save but the rebound landed in the crease and Clowe was fastest to get his stick to it.
The Kings needed to produce their own 2nd period comeback now and it started a minute and half later. Richardson entered the zone along the boards and dropped the puck back to Smyth. He took a shot from the wing that Neimi couldn't get cleanly in his glove and Richardson who had skated around behind then net and back in front found the rebound in the crease and shot it home.
It was back to a 1 goal game at 16.04 with Williams getting his name on the scoresheet. An extremely soft goal for Neimi to concede as Williams just seemed to slide a puck towards Smyth who was skating hard to the net and somehow the puck either went in off the skate of Vlasic or a pad on Neimi.
LA couldn't quite get it tied up by the end of the 2nd and any hope of repeating the feat of San Jose from game 3 was shattered in the first 3.22 of the 3rd.
Thonrton at 2.28 was allowed to skate to the front of the net unchallenged and he buried the puck high after an inch perfect pass from Marleau behind the net.
Pavelski made it 5-2 at 3.22, tipping a Dan Boyle shot from the blue line along the ice and past quick to really kill off the game.
It was 6-2 at 11.42, Mitchell tipping the puck under a prone Quick from a Wellwood blast from central.
LA did make it 6-3 with 6.49 left in the game, Ponikarovsky getting his own tip on a Johnson blast from the point.
With 3 minutes left the Kings had almost a full 5 on 3 powerplay to trying and reduce the deposit further but the Sharks had already done the damage and they held LA at bay to see the game out 6-3.
San Jose have now put themselves in a fantastic position to kill this series in game 5. After 7 and a bit periods of hockey, LA were tied 1-1 in the series and 4-0 up in game 3. They seemed destined to, at worst take this to 6 games and even had a viable chance of going into game 5 being 3-1 up themselves. It has collapsed since then and San Jose must be back as favourites to take them out next game.
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