The San Jose Sharks will look to remain undefeated on home ice when they play the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday.
The Sharks earned a much needed win Saturday to avoid falling 3-0 in the best of seven series. The hero of the game was Logan Couture who scored the overtime winner after going down with an injury in the second period.
"It's playoffs. Everyone plays through injuries," Couture said.
"The four years I've been here, I've seen guys play through a lot of injuries. The Stanley Cup is what you're playing for. Whatever it takes."
"It was huge," Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart said of Couture's return.
"In my opinion, he's the leader of this team. Throughout the season he's taken that role, I think, especially on the ice. To see him come back was huge. It was just a boost to the guys mentally if nothing else. And it's good to have him on the ice obviously."
"He's our guy," Sharks' defenseman Dan Boyle said of Couture.
"He's obviously a huge part of our team. The guys did a great job while he was out, but he comes back and scores the game-winner with a terrific shot. That was a pretty good shot. He's a tremendous hockey player."
Couture leads the Sharks with 10 points in the postseason.
The Kings are in a position that they are not familiar with. A year ago, the team led each series 3-0 on its way to winning the Stanley Cup. But this year, the defending champions trailed 2-0 against the Blues before storming back with four straight wins. Now they have a 2-1 series lead with two of the final four away from home.
"It's the position that we put ourselves into that is mind-boggling," forward Anze Kopitar said of his team taking late penalties in the game.
"It's not the way we want to play and be in that situation. We came close to killing it off, but just like we've said it all along, you can't give them too many opportunities, because they will score and they did."
Prediction: Los Angeles manages a 2-1 win.
Start Time: 10 PM EST
TV: NBCSN, TSN, RDS
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