EL SEGUNDO HERALD May 5, 2016 Page 5 Kings Kicked Off the Throne By Adam Serrao If there is one thing that we have all learned about these Los Angeles Kings over the past few years, it’s that they are the masters of the comeback victory. This year, and more specifically, this playoff series against the San Jose Sharks has been no different. In the final game “Despite setting a franchise record this year with 48 wins, the Kings managed to give away the Pacific Division towards the end of the season to their rivals from Anaheim, the Ducks.” of the series last Friday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Sharks led 3-0. It seemed as if all was lost. The Kings and the magnificent season that they have had would all be ousted from play, simultaneously. The Kings have fight, though. The team put their sticks to the ice, gritted their teeth, and did everything they could to get back into the game, tying things up at 3 goals apiece. Maybe their comeback attempt took all the energy that the team had out of them, or maybe the Sharks were simply the better team this year. Whatever it was, San Jose rallied in the third period scoring three more goals and with a 6-3 victory, ended the Kings season much sooner than originally expected. The Kings looked outclassed for most of the series against the Sharks, falling behind early and often in almost every game that the two rivals played. Even in Game 3, the one game that the Kings did find a way to win, the Sharks scored first and it took an overtime goal by Tanner Pearson to secure Los Angeles’s first and only victory of the series. “We were chasing the lead all the time. Pretty much every game,” Kings forward Anze Kopitar explained. “With the exception of one game when we scored first, we were chasing the lead the rest of the way. You can’t do that.” The one game that the Kings actually had a lead in was Game 1, when Jake Muzzin scored early on. It wasn’t long, however, before Joe Pavelski knotted things up and before you knew it, Brent Burns made it 2-1 and the Sharks never looked back from there. San Jose dominated the series from that point forward. Despite setting a franchise record this year with 48 wins, the Kings managed to give away the Pacific Division towards the end of the season to their rivals from Anaheim, the Ducks. Their seeding and eventual matchup with the Sharks wasn’t the only thing that led to the Kings downfall, though. The team’s style of play was put in jeopardy when Alec Martinez left due to injury in Game 1. Martinez was a key player in the Kings 2014 playoff run and ultimate championship. Without him, their blue line defense was depleted and as evidence by the 16 goals allowed in the series, the Kings just weren’t the same. “We can’t use injuries as an excuse,” head coach Darryl Sutter explained, “but we weren’t really evenly matched when you think about it. The Sharks got [Marc-Eduard] Vlasic back and we lost Marty. That’s losing the top end of your defense.” When a hockey team loses, its often easiest to blame the goalie. Jonathan Quick allowed 15 goals this postseason, hardly anything like his stellar play of years past. What’s even worse is that the Kings lost to and had trouble getting shots by Quick’s former backup, Martin Jones. It wasn’t only quick allowing goals, though. The Kings star players had trouble scoring them, too. Kopitar was held to just two games in the series, as was Jeff Carter. Tyler Toffoli, a named that was all over the press and Kings coverage in 2014, was rendered completely irrelevant by the Sharks. While the Kings main cogs were held in check all series, the Sharks stars went off. Pavelski and Logan Couture led the charge for the Sharks and ultimately guided their team toward the series win. See Kings, page 13 Lady Eagles Defy History in Epic Victory Story and Photos by Gregg McMullin When you think about team sports and winning streaks what comes to mind. In professional sports the Los Angeles Lakers’ 33 consecutive wins are still a record in basketball. The New England Patriots won 21 consecutive games over two seasons; yep pretty impressive. A hundred years ago this September the New York Giants won 26 straight, yikes. At the collegiate level the Oklahoma Sooners football team won an incredible 47 games in a row from 1953-1957. Of course more recently the UCLA men’s basketball program had a winning streak that lasted from 1971 to 1974, or a total of 88 games. Perhaps the longest winning streak in sporting history probably goes unnoticed to most but might be the most impressive of all. The New York Yacht Club successfully defended the America’s Cup against all challengers from 1857 to 1983. At the high school level winning streaks can be mind bobbling. Take for instance the De La Salle Spartans who became the first team in high school football history to win 100 games in a row. They finished with a record streak of 151 victories between 1992 and 2003. To put that run into perspective, one George Bush was president when the streak began, and his son George W Bush was president when it concluded. The all time winning streak in high school sports that went on for more than three decades, is the Brandon Eagles (Brandon, Fla.) never lost Jasmine Krauss had a perfect night at the plate and scored once. See Eagles, page 11 From left Megan Truesdale is surrounded by her infield Julie Roach, Alyssa Pelegrin, Gabby Benjamin and Kaili Reitano.
Herald_050516_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above