Marc-Edouard Vlasic News

Frustrated, stymied and curtailed by the stingy San Jose Sharks over the first four games of the series, Kopitar awoke late in the second period simply by being in the right place at the right time.

Galiardi points the finger at Quick. Doughty fires back. Everyone's dealing with the refs.

San Jose Sharks' Brent Burns, right, celebrates his goal with teammate Marc-Edouard Vlasic against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period in Game 4 of their second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, May 21, 2013.

San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi , of Finland, blocks a goal attempt against Los Angeles Kings center Mike Richards as San Jose Sharks defenseman Justin Braun looks on during the second period in Game 3 of their second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series, Saturday, May 18, 2013, in San Jose, Calif.

Being ever the optimist about the San Jose Sharks, I pointed out to coach Todd McLellan on Friday that no team in franchise history has recovered from losing the first two games of a playoff series to come back and win it.

San Jose coach Todd McLellan says Brent Burns 'Isn't always following our system.

Brad Stuart, who took the penalty that began the Sharks' worst two minutes and 41 seconds of their playoff history, was not going to run from the reality.

Captain Dustin Brown tied it with 1:43 left and Trevor Lewis scored the tiebreaking power-play goal 22 seconds later, propelling the Los Angeles Kings to a stunning 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night and a 2-0 series lead.

They are the vexation dynamos of Northern California sports. Since 2004, they have qualified for the playoffs more often than any other Bay Area pro team.

The Sharks spent some time in practice Saturday preparing for what either the Chicago Blackhawks or the Los Angeles Kings might present to them in a second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

A year after being among the main perpetrators of another playoff failure in San Jose, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski are leading the Sharks back to the second round.

Vancouver Canucks' Henrik Sedin tangles with San Jose Sharks' Marc-Edouard Vlasic, right, and Justin Braun behind goalie Antti Niemi, of Finland, during the second period in game 1 of an NHL Western Conference quarter-final playoff hockey series in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday May 1, 2013.

A look at the numbers behind the Sharks' 5-2 win over Vancouver in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

The way Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo was dialed in during the first half of Wednesday's 3-1 Game 1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, it was easy to forget last week's mini-controversy. That was in regard to head coach Alain Vigneault leaving Luongo in the net for seven Edmonton Oilers goals in the Canucks' regular-season finale.

The San Jose Sharks need big games from all skilled players to beat the Vancouver Canucks, but some are more important than others Christian Petersen/Getty Images The San Jose Sharks are getting a rematch of the 2011 Western Conference finals.

The most foolproof way to throw a hockey game: pair Scott Hannan and Brad Stuart, then play them for nearly 19 minutes.

With one game left in the regular season, the Sharks can still finish anywhere from fourth to seventh in the Western Conference.