Rite of Spring 2013 (NHL Playoffs): "You have no fear of the underdog, that's why you will not survive."

[ninersdd]

And were tied!

[Still MIGHTY]

Hey look! The Sharks have some balls! Good on ya, San Jose.

[Kramerica Industries]

Regular season and postseason combined - Los Angeles only 9-20 on the road this season.

Really, San Jose managing to fight back and level this series at the Shark Tank should not be a surprise.

[zpqmaowl]

Tonight's three stars, as chosen by zpqmaowl:

3: Joe Thornton

2: Averaging one shot every 4:26 for forty minutes

1:

[dbadefense1990]

And now, the best-of-7 is shrunk to a best-of-3. The same saving grace the Kings had in the St. Louis series (home remedy in Games 3 and 4 after losing the first two games on the road) is now working against them in this Sharks series. Boy am I going to be on cardiac watch on Thursday.

I picked the Kings in 7 for this series, but I'm leaning towards the Sharks ending this in 6 if they win Game 5. At this point, I see no way of the Sharks losing at Silicon Valley; here's hoping the crowds at Staples Center can guide the Kings past these choppy waters.

[Lights Out]

This is why I felt tonight's game was a must-win for the Kings. The Sharks have all the momentum on their side now.

[dbadefense1990]

This is why I felt tonight's game was a must-win for the Kings. The Sharks have all the momentum on their side now.

This is where home-ice advantage can be helpful. Even down 0-2 to St. Louis, I didn't have a doomsday mindset, because of their terrific play at home this season, and I don't have that doomsday mindset right now. I'm really not that scared of this 2-2 series tie, since the Kings can regain some poise at home, and use it to propel them to series victories. Moments like this are why the regular season finale now matters; it gave us an emergency, use-in-case-of-panic assurance, in which now the Kings will use to survive. Obviously this game mattered more to the Sharks, since coming back from a 3-1 games deficit with winning two on the road would be so difficult, so they avoided that. I am not on panic mode just yet, and I'll relax more comfortably if the Kings win on Thursday. But if they lose, then pillars will hang over the Kings, waiting for the Sharks to pull the switch and behead them on Sunday.

[Cujo]

Look for LA's twitter account to become among the league's most sterile.

Good.

The Kings have a disclaimer for "Tweets that may offend" on their main page....

There was no so-called guest. This is what they do, it just away from them this time. Shame on LA.

[dbadefense1990]

One thing I noticed: the Bruins-Rangers series was the last 2nd round series to materialize, yet it's on the verge of being the first 2nd round series to be finished.

OITGDNHL.

[DaRadniz29]

Sharks lucky on the quick whistle and hold on to win 2-1 to even series at 2 games apiece heading back to LA for Game 5. Sharks dominated the first, especially Jumbo, man was he energized! Kings pushed back in the second, but Couture's goal was set the Sharks up 2-0. The Kings pushed hard in the third, but Niemi stood tall. Sharks need to play the way they played in the first period all game. Anyway, a win is a win.

Bracket updated.

Go Sharks!!

[-kj]

There was no so-called guest. This is what they do, it just away from them this time. Shame on LA.

Don't they often have guests take over their feed? I know Wil Wheaton did it for a period earlier this year.

[Funky Bunky]

Do you know the way to the établissement psychiatrique?

Free Raffi? I'll take it!

Eh, seems overpriced.

Also, here's why you don't let a two-decades-past-relevant wacky morning DJ guest-host your team's official Twitter account for a period:

He deleted that tweet, but the rest remain, a loving testament to a guy who's really not funny at all.

If there were no Anaheim Ducks, the Kings wouldn't have any local competition, so they wouldn't need to be so outlandish with their twitter account in order to attract fans. This is entirely the Ducks' fault, and I expect the Ducks to receive some sort of punishment from the league within the next 24 hours.

/Oddball logic

[Funky Bunky]

One thing I noticed: the Bruins-Rangers series was the last 2nd round series to materialize, yet it's on the verge of being the first 2nd round series to be finished.

OITGDNHL.

"OITGDNHL" isn't really applicable here. That could happen in any sport.

[CubsFanBudMan]

There was no so-called guest. This is what they do, it just away from them this time. Shame on LA.

Don't they often have guests take over their feed? I know Wil Wheaton did it for a period earlier this year.

Yes, it really was a guest. He even signed his tweets. Besides the "offend" warning in their bio, the Kings announced at the start of the second period, "We're handing over our Twitter feed to [morning DJ whose name I already forgot]. Hope we aren't making a mistake." So they certainly knew what they were getting into, but the Kings weren't doing the writing.

[TorinK29]

If I'm not mistaken, this is the third straight time that the B's have had a 3-0 lead in the second round? (When they advance)

Try not to screw this one up mmmkay?

In all seriousness, I have them as my cup favorites right now.

[Kramerica Industries]

I'm rapidly advancing to the point where I'll have to root for the Penguins out of the East, provided the Rangers don't channel their inner Flyers or Red Sox (I'm not fancying it - the whole 0-3 comeback craze died in 2011).

I can't stomach another Boston sports championship. And, yes, I know I'm a bad person for saying that.

[njmeadowlanders]

I'm rapidly advancing to the point where I'll have to root for the Penguins out of the East, provided the Rangers don't channel their inner Flyers or Red Sox (I'm not fancying it - the whole 0-3 comeback craze died in 2011).

I can't stomach another Boston sports championship. And, yes, I know I'm a bad person for saying that.

No you're not. Rooting against the Bruins because of what happened at the marathon doesn't make you a bad person. Let's be honest, in terms of things that are actually important in life, it really doesn't matter because it's just a sports team.

Hell, I live miles from Manhattan. I could see the smoke from 9/11 a couple of blocks from where I live. Yet I was rooting HARD for Arizona AGAINST the Yankees in 2001. When Rivera blew Game 7 in the 9th I went nuts. Does that make me a bad person? Come on, it really doesn't matter.

[dbadefense1990]

I can't stomach another Boston sports championship. And, yes, I know I'm a bad person for saying that.

I can't stomach any more Bay Area championships, from the Giants (and how they always fly under the damn radar with stellar pitching and timely hitting) to the 49ers (mostly the legion of Kaepernick fanboys annoy me) to the Sharks (although I have the least hate for them, and their fans on the CCSLC have been relatively calm and respectful).

But should they suffer something tragic, say terrorism or a 1989-style earthquake, then the hating ends on the spot. I will always hate their teams, but not the city and its people in time of need, which is the bigger picture to look at.

[Funky Bunky]

You cant stomach another Bay Area championship??? There's only been two in the last 20 years or so.

[Sodboy13]

Word is that Vigneault and his assistants have been fired. Gillis stays on, presumably so he can continue his quest to find the right moment to trade Luongo.