In a one-sided encounter, the San Jose Sharks yesterday defeated Los Angeles Kings 6-1 at HP Pavilion. Center Michal Handzus scored the Kings' only goal of the game. Six players each scored a goal to help the Sharks clinch their fourth consecutive Pacific Division title. With this win, the Kings moved up to the No. 2 seeding, while the Kings dropped from fourth to fifth.
The Sharks scored twice in the first period. "Every one of their goals we gave it right to them. They took advantage of every opportunity they got and filled the net on us," defenseman Matt Greene said. "It's a good lesson late in the year that you're never really as good as you think you are, especially if you're going to give a good team the opportunity to beat you like we did tonight," he added. The Kings will now clash with Phoenix on Wednesday.
The Sharks dominated the match from the word go and forced Kings to make mistake through their speed. "It was just getting everything handed to you there," Greene said. "They came ready to play, obviously. We didn't." The Kings failed to lift up their game in a match when the playoff spot was at stake. There is no denying the fact that the Sharks played well but the Kings defense was also indisciplined. "You've got to show up against a real good hockey club and play well. And we didn't do that," Coach Terry Murray said. "Structurally we were really broken down," he added.
