Game 2 started on Thursday night in Los Angeles. Three minutes into the game, Jeff Carter scored the first of the game to give the Kings the 1-0 lead again. Despite outshooting the Kings 11-4 in the first, the Sharks went into the locker room trailing the Kings. Drew Doughty scored on a beautiful shot from the point on the powerplay to give the Kings the 2 goal edge 6 minutes into the period. But then things started to change. The Sharks finally scored. Patrick Marleau scored his 5th of the playoffs to bring the Sharks within 1 half way through the second period. Brad Stuart, scored a few minutes later to tie the game. The Sharks had solved the greatest question known to man, when it comes playoff time, “How the hell do you beat Jonathan Quick?” Traffic, bodies, and GREAT shots. The game stayed tied at two until Marc-Eduoard Vlasic pinched in on a delayed penalty and buried Brad Stuart’s rebound to give the Sharks their first lead of the series. The Kings weren’t ready to go down that easy though, with a little under 3 minutes left in the game Brad Stuart was assessed a two minute penalty for tripping. A few seconds into the penalty, Vlasic tried to clear the puck, but sent it straight into the stands. Now please, please, please, I am begging you, NHL. Please change this rule. I hate the delay of game penalty. A team’s season should not be decided on a missed attempt to clear the puck down the ice. I hate it, and I really hope someone higher up is thinking the same way I am, and they get this thing changed. With 1:43 remaining in the game, Dustin Brown smacked home a rebound to tie the game for the Kings. Just moments later, still on a powerplay, Tyler Toffoli shot the puck off of Niemi and right onto the stick of Trevor Lewis to give the Kings the 4-3 lead with only 1:21 left in the game.

The Kings would go on to take a 2-0 series lead over the San Jose Sharks. This isn’t how I expected this series to go, but the Kings capitalized on the opportunities they were give late in game 2 and for that they deserved the win. There is upside for the Sharks though. They may be down 0-2, but they get to go back home, where they have been great this year, and now the have the confidence they need knowing that it IS possible to score on Jonathan Quick.

St. Louis Blues – regular season record 29-17-2. Good for 60 points and 4th in the Western Conference.

The St. Louis Blues have home ice in the series thanks to a strong finish to the regular season that saw them win three in a row to close out the year and seven of their last ten.  A five game losing streak in early February and then another rough patch where they lost four of give at the end of March had the Blues fighting for their playoff lives.

Injuries have plagued this club all season long but they appear to be healthy and ready to go with rookie phenom Vladimir Tarasenko leading the charge.

Keys to the Blues success:

We’ve already mentioned it but the Blues need to stay healthy for this series.  Tarasenko, Andy MacDonald and Alexander Steen will be called upon to help shoulder the load for the Blues along with David Perron and Chris Stewart.

But perhaps the biggest key for the Blues is goal.  The three headed monster between the pipes of Brian Elliott, Jake Allen and Jaroslav Halak can be complicated but it appears it’s Elliott’s job to lose.

With the Kings offense as solid as most in the playoffs, Elliott could be the key to the Blues winning the series.  If he’s not sharp, it could be over sooner rather than later.

Los Angeles Kings – regular season record 27-16-5. Good for 59 points and 5th in the Western Conference.

Despite a shortened NHL season that didn’t start until mid-January, the Kings appeared to have been suffering from a Stanley Cup hangover.  With just two wins in their first ten games to start the year, they appeared to be in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.  Then they won seven of eight and never lost more than two games in a row for the rest of the year.  All aspects of their game was suddenly clicking and they resembled the team that stunned the hockey world last spring that won the Cup.

Now they’re back for another run at Lord Stanley and they look good at being able to put together another deep playoff run.

Keys to the Kings success:

Jeff Carter leads the offense complimented by Mike Richards, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams and the list goes on and on.  Scoring goals will not be a problem for this team.

On defense they’re as solid as they come with the addition of Robyn Regehr.  So for the Kings the key to winning the series is the same as the Blues.  It comes down to a battle of the goaltenders.

Last season Jonathan Quick carried the Kings to some key victories that they had no business winning.  This year the expectations are much higher and Quick will be under added pressure.  A 2.45 GAA and a .902 save percentage are well below the league leaders, creating some concern that Quick is off his game.  Not to worry as backup Jonathan Bernier was splendid in the 14 games he played this season, posting a 1.88 GAA and a .922 save percentage.  Should Quick struggle early, look for Bernier to relieve him.

Series Prediction:

The Kings are too deep up front and with Bernier ready to step in and assume the number one netminder role, I’ll take the Kings in seven games.

Agree or disagree?  We welcome your comments below.

Surprising?  Probably to most given that the Jackets were predicted to finish dead last this year and while they still could, they’ve been playing much better hockey of late.

Last week Bobrovsky went 4-0 last week with a microscopic goals against average of only 0.77 in that span.  His save percentage was an amazing .972 and managed to post one shutout during the week’s play.  The highlight came against the Vancouver Canucks when he made 34 saves in what turned into a 2-1 overtime win for his club.

Bobrovksy is a big reason why Columbus has leapfrogged both the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in the standings and into 13th place.  Don’t look now but the Blue Jackets are only four points out of a playoff spot. Hey, crazier things have happened.

The second star of the week is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and for good reason. Sid the Kid led all players last week with 11 points in 4 games, 9 of which were assists. Talk about disguising his goal scoring ability by being a playmaker.

He is also riding a modest eight-game point streak where he’s put up 5 goals and 15 assists.  Just yesterday he paced the Penguins to a 6-1 romp over the New York Islanders in which the captain had 5 assists in the game alone.  Not bad for a guy who’s said to be recovering from concussion issues.  I’d say the greatest player in the game is back on top.

The third star of the week goes to Jeff Carter of the Los Angeles Kings.  The former Flyer had 6 goals in 4 games last week to bring his season total to 17, good enough for a second place tie in the NHL.  Carter picked up his fifth career hat-trick last week against the Nashville Predators and also scored the game winning goal against the St. Louis Blues, earning him the nickname “money.”  Carter is one of many reasons that the defending champs are surging and looking primed to make another run at Lord Stanley in the spring.