Kings vs Sharks Game 1: #SHARKSIN3

Woooo, buddy, the Kings put up a stinker to open the playoff series against the San Jose Sharks. Jonathan Quick’s OT goal against the St. Louis Blues to open last season’s first round was nothing compared to this game. Quick gave up five goals before he was finally pulled by coach Darryl Sutter.

Unfortunately, none of the other Kings players looked any better. Defense was also glaringly absent for huge stretches of the first two periods.

The Kings could only manage 32.3 percent of the shot attempts when the score was close. That’s their worst effort of the entire season. When the Sharks weren’t taking shots at the Kings’ net, they were matching them hit-for-hit. The Kings couldn’t get anything going until score effects kicked in and San Jose eased up in the third period.

Backup goaltender Martin Jones took over in net, making his first NHL playoff appearance, and Jake Muzzin finally scored to end Antti Niemi’s shutout opportunity. Slava Voynov got involved, too, making it 5-2 not long after. The last Kings goal came from All-American Hero! Trevor Lewis! (AHH! Trevor Lewis!) to bring the Kings to 5-3. Their comeback attempt ended there. With less than two minutes left, some ugly shenanigans from Justin Williams allowed the Sharks to earn the empty-netter. 6-3.

The most exciting parts of this game for Kings fans might’ve been Quick going after Mike Brown early on, and then Kopitar knocking down Raffi Torres. Late efforts meant the game didn’t quite end as a blowout, but they also weren’t enough to truly get the Kings back in it.

In spite of all of this, we’re actually not too worried. Listen to us break it down in audio form for proof: