LOS ANGELES – San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski needed to get on the ice for Game 1 of his first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings to calm his worries.*
After his team beat Los Angeles 4-3 to take a 1-0 series lead, Pavelski admitted once he started banging his body around his mind calmed. The pent up stress from the last time these two teams played in the postseason, when the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead to lose in seven games in 2014, abated somewhat.
“There were definitely a few nerves there early,” Pavelski said. “It was good to see guys get on the forecheck and do a lot of little things.”*
Pavelski set the tone for the Sharks with two goals, including the game-winner where he beat Kings star center Anze Kopitar around the net for a wraparound score.*
“He’s our captain for a reason,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “He scores a lot of key goals and led the league in game-winning goals so he’s been clutch like that for us all season.”*


Pavelski described the mood in the locker room before the game as “loose … not overly loose, not overly excited.”
This fits Pavelski’s personality. He’s serious but knows how to cut the tension when needed. It’s a different style from Joe Thornton, who had a more easygoing persona in the room.
Pavelski was given the captain’s ‘C’ this year after the team went with all alternate captains last season. The prior summer the Sharks stripped Thornton of his ‘C’ after the team blew the first-round lead to the Kings.
It’s unclear whether the Sharks have indeed learned and changed from that year, and a Game 1 victory doesn’t clinch a series. But on Thursday, San Jose took the Kings’ punches and countered quickly.
When Jake Muzzin scored to put Los Angeles up 1-0 just 2:53 into the game, Pavelski countered at the 6:25 mark to tie up the game at 1-1.
When Los Angeles took a 3-2 lead off a gorgeous Trevor Lewis shorthanded toe-drag move, forward Tomas Hertl responded just 30 seconds later to tie the game at 3-3. This set the stage for Pavelski just 17 seconds into the third.


“Games change from night to night – what you have to do,” Pavelski said. “We try to start games the same way. We know what we want to do, we have a little plan and this team (the Kings) always starts fast so we have to be ready and they did tonight, and we found our legs after the first four or five minutes and started playing.”*
Game 1 played to San Jose’s advantages, mainly the power play. The Sharks finished the game 1-for-4 with the man-advantage. Hertl’s goal came one second after Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was released from the penalty box. The Sharks finished the season with the third best PP in the NHL and boast some of the top puck movers in league with the man-advantage.
Also, it didn’t help LA that defenseman Alec Martinez exited the game at the start of the third period. Los Angeles’ defensive depth has been a problem all year and will be tested if Martinez can’t play in Game 2. **
Kings coach Darryl Sutter pointed out that his team generally doesn’t allow four goals on 23 shots on goal, which is what happened Thursday.
“Have to be better than that,” he said.
Said Kopitar, “You can’t just given them too much momentum. We have to do a better job of staying out of the box and that our mistakes don’t result in goals against. Obviously it’s not ideal to lose the first game, especially at home. We have to be better than that.”*
After the game Sharks owner Hasso Plattner came into the San Jose locker room and boisterously congratulated players. He was in a celebratory mood as were a lot of the Sharks. But they also should understand, more than a lot of groups, that winning Game 1 equates to nothing in the postseason – especially against Los Angeles. **

“It’s a lot of new guys and a completely different feeling. I think we’ve been doing it all year, winning on the road, coming back from being down,” said defenseman Brent Burns who had a goal and an assist on the night. “It’s not a feeling, it’s not something you can explain, it just happens. Guys come in with big goals and big performances.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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