Los Angeles Kings Stay Alive Against San Jose Sharks

Apr 24, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Brent Burns (88) and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr (44) fight after game four of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Kings won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

If the San Jose Sharks are going to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings in the first round the Kings are going to make them work for it.  After falling behind 3-0 in the series, the Kings staved off elimination with a 6-3 win in game 4.

Marian Gaborik and Justin Williams each had a pair and Tyler Toffoli and Dustin Brown added singles to pace the Kings offensively, but it was Jonathan Quick who did enough to win, after a couple of sub-par starts earlier in the series.  Quick made 36 saves for the win. The Kings chased Antti Niemi from the Sharks crease in the first minute of the third period, scoring their 5th goal on 26 shots.

James Sheppard, Matthew Nieto and Joe Pavelski had the goals for San Jose, who twice responded to LA goals, but simply didn’t have the answer for Quick.

The game got nasty in the last minute as there were 30 minutes in penalties handed out in the last 34 seconds, and two fights in the last 11 seconds, including one at the final buzzer, as the teams set the tone for the next game.

The Kings are not out of the woods yet, as they still have to go to San Jose and beat the Sharks twice in a row at home if they want to make the rare comeback from 0-3 in  a series.

You can bet the SAP Center will be rocking as the Sharks return home for game 5 Saturday night with a chance to put their rivals out of the playoffs and get a little rest before round 2, knowing the Stars and Ducks will be going at least 6 games.