Sharks-Kings Game Preview

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The San Jose Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings tonight at 7:30pm PST at HP Pavilion. This will be the fourth meeting of the season and the second at the Shark Tank; all three previous meetings have been won by San Jose in regulation.

However, lest the Sharks come into this game overconfident, they need only look at how the Kings have been playing of late. Since Obama was inaugurated, the Kings are 8-2-2; in the same stretch, the Sharks are 5-2-4, and thus have captured three fewer points in one more game.

Momentum would appear to be in the Kings favour, but history would appear to be in the Sharks. Being at home and with the Kings inconsistencies, I consider these intangibles to be a wash.

However, San Jose is having more injury problems. While coach Todd McLellan has said that defenceman Brad Lukowich and forwards Jeremy Roenick, Tomas Plihal, and Jody Shelley are now day-to-day, I would be surprised if more than one of them plays.

Even should they all play, San Jose will be without centres Torrey Mitchell and Marcel Goc, leaving them thin at that position. Meanwhile, the Kings are only without former Sharks defenceman Tom Preissing. Minor advantage: Kings.

Here is a closer look at the teams by the numbers:

The Sharks still have the best point percentage in the league (.773) and are the NHL’s best home team (.879). The Kings have the 18th-best percentage (.527) but the ninth-best road percentage (.543). Advantage: Sharks
San Jose scores 3.44 goals per game, ranked second in the league, and yields 2.42 per game, good for third in the NHL. That difference of +1.02 per game is second in the league, while the Kings deficit of 0.11 goals is tied for 17th with Dallas. The Kings are ranked 21st offensively, scoring 2.62 goals on average, but are tied for 10th defensively, yielding just 2.73. Advantage: Sharks
The Sharks have the NHL’s second-best power play at 24 percent and the fourth-best penalty kill at 84 percent. Los Angeles has the 13th ranked power play at 19.8 percent and is in a virtual tie with the Islanders in the dead middle of the league (14 teams above and below them) in penalty killing at 81.6 percent. The Sharks combined special teams rating of 108 is just .1 behind Minnesota at the top of the league, but the Kings are 12th with a rating of 101.4. Advantage: Sharks

With a tough road trip coming up next week and the Detroit Red Wings breathing down the Sharks’ necks, San Jose should take advantage of their clear edge and win decisively. This would allow them to give their top two lines, who have been relied on too heavily, a couple shifts off. However, I think it will be closer than the match-up indicates…Sharks 4, Kings 2.