San Jose Sharks Beat L.A. Kings 3-2, Will Face St. Louis Blues in NHL Playoffs

Saturday night's matchup between the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings was highly anticipated, with the outcome helping to determine playoff seeding in the Western Conference.

San Jose and L.A. were tied with 94 points coming into the day. After the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-1 earlier on Saturday, Phoenix claimed the Pacific Division and the third seed in the Western Conference.

That meant the winner of this game would claim the seventh spot, and the loser would fall to eighth. 

San Jose played poorly in the first two periods, getting outshot 25-14, and found themselves down 2-0 on goals by Jason Williams and Mike Richards of the Kings.

However, they turned it around in the third period.

In a surprising move, the coaching staff pulled goalie Antti Niemi and inserted backup Thomas Greiss to begin the third period. The Sharks' broadcasters also announced that both Colin White and Ryane Clowe were not on the bench for the third period.

But that didn't deter the Sharks from making a spirited comeback.

Just 35 seconds into the period, Dan Boyle ripped a wrist shot past L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick to cut the lead in half. Then, on the power play, Patrick Marleau's shot ramped off an L.A. player's stick and tied the game.

Finally, Boyle finished it off in overtime, scoring on a sweet backhand in tight, beating Jonathan Quick up high off of a nice give-and-go with Martin Havlat to give the Sharks a 3-2 win.

As the night went on, it was learned that the Vancouver Canucks had won and the St. Louis Blues had lost. That meant Vancouver would be the No. 1 seed and St. Louis No. 2 in the Western Conference.

With their win, San Jose claimed the seventh seed, and will play the St. Louis Blues in the first round. The full first-round playoff schedule will be released Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

This is a matchup that, on paper, does not look to favor the Sharks. They were 0-4 against St. Louis this year in the regular season. 

Sharks coach Todd McClellan summed it up best when asked about the St. Louis Blues after the game:

"They're a hell of a team."