Last season the Sharks had their playoff run cut short by the Kings. A year later they will to try to return the favor when the battle of California gets reignited in the opening round.
The Kings won the season series taking three of five matchups with the Sharks. That included a pair of wins at home and overall Los Angeles has won four straight at home versus San Jose. It’s been a much different story for the Kings on the road. In their last nine games at San Jose the Kings have recorded only one victory.
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Los Angeles has a reputation as a defensive-minded team, and they did lead the league in goals against this season, but they also boast a number of flashy forwards. Anze Kopitar leads the attack which also includes Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Justin Williams, Drew Doughty and trade-deadline pickup Marian Gaborik.
San Jose may still be led by familiar faces Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and leading scorer Joe Pavelski, but the second wave may finally be ready. Thornton and Marleau have failed to get San Jose over the hump before, but that could change with Logan Couture, Tommy Wingels and Tomas Hertl ready to carry some of the load.
The Bodog oddsmakers actually like the Sharks a bit more than the Kings at 9/1 on the Stanley Cup futures. The Kings are right behind though at 10/1.