The San Jose Sharks hosted the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams. The teams knew before the game began that the Phoenix Coyotes had sewn up the Pacific Division title with a win over the Minnesota Wild. The only thing left was for the Sharks and Kings to duke it out in order to see who would enter the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and who would be the No. 8 seed. The Sharks were able to pull off the 3-2 overtime win and claim the higher seeding in the postseason.
Justin Williams put the Kings on the board first with a power play goal at 11:09 in the first period, Williams' 22nd goal of the season. The Kings extended their lead on another power play goal i the second period, as Mike Richards put his 18th of the season past Antti Niemi.
The Sharks came back in the final period of regulation, getting on the board with Dan Boyle's eighth goal of the year just 35 seconds into the period, then tying it up on a Patrick Marleau power play goal at 8:14. The goal was Marleau's 30th of the season.
The game headed to overtime and appeared to be heading to a shootout when Boyle once again found the net with 1:02 left in the OT period for the Sharks win.
Looking forward to the Sharks opponent for the first round of the NHL playoffs, it was bad news for them as either the No. 7 or the No. 8 seed. The Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues hold the top two seeds in the Western Conference. The Sharks were of course bounced from last year's playoffs by the Canucks, who went on to the Stanley Cup FInals, while the Blues hold a 4-0 record over San Jose in the 2011-12 season, outscoring them 11-3 in those games.
For all news and information regarding the San Jose Sharks, please visit Fear the Fin. For updates and perspective regarding the Los Angeles Kings, head on over to Jewels From the Crown.
