Puck drop for Game 7 is set for Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Despite being a low-scoring, tight-checking series, the Kings and Sharks have played some of the most entertaining hockey of the 2013 NHL playoffs.
Here’s a look at the results from the first six games of the series.
Game 1: Sharks 0 at Kings 2
Game 2: Sharks 3 at Kings 4
Game 3: Kings 1 at Sharks 2 (OT)
Game 4: Kings 1 at Sharks 2
Game 5: Sharks 0 at Kings 3
Game 6: Kings 1 at Sharks 2
Not only has the home team won all six games in this series, it also won all four games in the regular-season series as well.
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Kings and Sharks have played such close contests throughout the year. Both teams are loaded with savvy veterans, skilled youngsters and two of the top goaltenders in the Western Conference.
Jonathan Quick and Antti Niemi
Both goaltenders have hoisted the Stanley Cup in recent years. Quick took home the Conn Smythe Trophy last year as he led the Kings to their first Stanley Cup. Niemi went all the way with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, helping them win their first title since 1961.
With similar performances thus far, the winning netminder in Game 7 will surely be a Conn Smythe candidate when the conference finals get under way.
Quick is 7-5 in the playoffs with a .947 save percentage, 1.54 GAA and three shutouts.
Niemi is 7-3 in the playoffs with a .932 save percentage, 1.85 GAA and no shutouts.
This will be the first Game 7 of Quick’s career, while Niemi has played in just one, leading the Sharks to a win over the Red Wings in the second round of the 2011 playoffs.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
