(5) Kings vs. (6) Sharks

Kings Leading Postseason Scorer: Mike Richards, 5 points (0 goals, 5 assists).

Sharks Leading Postseason Scorer: Joe Pavelski, 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists).

Kings Expected Starting Goaltender: Jonathan Quick, (4-2, 1.58 GAA, .944 SV%).

Sharks Expected Starting Goaltender: Antti Niemi (4-0, 1.86 GAA, .937 SV%).

Kings Posteason Statistics

Sharks Postseason Statistics

Kings Injuries: Defenseman Robyn Regehr (nose) is probable. Left winger Kyle Clifford (undiscloed) is questionable. Defenseman Matt Greene (back) is doubtful. Defenseman Willie Mitchell (knee) is on injured reserve.

Sharks Injuries: Defenseman Jason Demers (left ankle) and center Tommy Wingels ("upper body") are probable. Right wingers Adam Burish and Martin Havlat ("lower body) are out.

Kings with Stanley Cup bling: Jonathan Bernier, G; Dustin Brown, RW; Jeff Carter, C; Kyle Clifford, LWDrew Doughty, D; Colin Fraser, C; Matt Greene, D; Dwight King, LW; Anze Kopitar, C; Trevor Lewis, C; Alec Martinez, D; Willie Mitchell, D; Jake Muzzin, D; Jordan Nolan, C; Dustin Penner, LW; Jonathan Quick, G; Mike Richards, C; Brad Richardson, RW; Rob Scuderi, D; Jarret Stoll, C; Tyler Toffoli, C; Slava Voynov, D; Justin Williams, RW.

Sharks with Stanley Cup bling: Adam Burish, RW; Dan Boyle, D; Scott Gomez, C; Antti Niemi, G; Brad Stuart, D.

Something worthwhile about the Kings: The Kings have the lowest goals scored per game of any team still alive in the postseason at 2.0.

Something worthwhile about the Sharks: At 29.2 percent, the Sharks have the best postseason power-play rate of any team still alive in the Western Conference.

Something useless about the Kings that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Former Penguins left winger Chris Kontos holds the Kings' record for most power-play goals in a postseason. He scored six in 1989.

Something useless about the Sharks that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Current Penguins right winger Jarome Iginla holds the record for most penalty minutes in a period in a posteason game against the Sharks. While a member of the Flames, Iginla recorded 22 penalty minutes in a 3-0 Sharks win in the third period of Game 3 of the 2004 Western Conference final.

Former Penguins on the Kings: Luc Robitalle, vice president - business operations; Rob Scuderi, D.

Former Penguins on the Sharks: Jim Johnson, assistant coach.

Who needs to be the difference for the Kings: Rob Scuderi, Robyn Regehr, Drew Doughty, etc. The Kings' blue line needs to find a way to cool off a potent offensive attack from the Sharks. San Jose has a deep collection of skilled forwards. The Kings can't expect star goaltender Jonathan Quick to bail them out all the time.

Who needs to be the difference for the Sharks: Antti Niemi. Once again, Niemi will be the story for the Sharks. San Jose swept the Canucks in part due to Vancouver's inconsistent goaltending. That won't be the story this time with Quick, a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner. Niemi can't allow any soft goals because Quick won't allow too many.

Best Kings YouTube Video We Could Find: Former Kings defenseman Jaroslav Modry's overtime goal in Game 1 of a 4-3 win against the Avalanche of a 2001 Western Conference semfinal series:

Best Sharks YouTube Video We Could Find: Former Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov robbing former Stars center Brad Richards of a goal in overtime of Game 6 in a 2008 Western Conference final

EN Prediction: The Kings enter this series a bit worn out from a physical series against the Blues. The Sharks had a fairy easy time against the Canucks and are relatively healthy. Health and superior depth up front will push the Sharks to the Western Conference final. Sharks 4-2.

(Photos: Richards-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Boyle-Marianne Helm/Getty Images)

"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2012-13 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1992-93 season which led to the only President's Trophy in franchise history. The 1992-93 squad is commonly regarded as the most talented in the history of the Penguins. We will look back on games on the date they happened.

Today, we look at the Penguins' 4-3 overtime loss against the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the Patrick Division final series, May 14, 1993.

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The Islanders won the series at the Civic Arena. Following a scoreless first period, the Penguins took a 1-0 lead at 7:59 of the second period when defenseman Ulf Samuelsson scored against goaltender Glenn Healy. Assists went to center Mario Lemieux and defenseman Kjell Samuelsson.

Late in the period at the 18:28 mark, the Islanders tied the game, 1-1, when left winger Steve Thomas scored against goaltender Tom Barrasso. Center Benoit Hogue had the lone assist.

New York took a 2-1 lead at 6:10 of the third period when left winger David Volek scored off assists from center Ray Ferraro and Tom Fitzgerald.

Almost three minutes later at the 9:09 mark, a goal by Hogue made it a 3-1 game. Defenseman Vladimir Malakhov and Healy were credited with assists.

The Penguins pulled with in a goal, 3-2, at 16:13 when center Ron Francis scored. Defenseman Larry Murphy had the lone assists.

With exactly a minute remaing in regulation, a goal by right winger Rick Tocchet tied the game 3-3. Francis and Murphy had assists.

At 5:16 of the overtime period, Volek scored with a one-timer from the left circle to win the game. Ferraro and defenseman Dennis Vaske collected assists.

Highlights

Notes:

-Barrasso made 16 saves in the loss.

-Penguins left winger Kevin Stevens left the game 4:50 into the first period after he suffered significant head and facial injuries following a collision with Islanders defenseman Rich Pilon. Stevens was transported from the ice on a stretcher and was hospitalized. Stevens would require surgery to repair the damage.

-The win is generally considered one of the largest upsets in NHL history.

Postseason statistics:

Player Position	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
Mario Lemieux, C	10	8	10	18
Ron Francis, C	12	6	11	17
Rick Tocchet, RW	12	7	7	14
Kevin Stevens, LW	12	5	10	13
Larry Murphy, D	12	2	11	13
Jaromir Jagr, RW	12	5	4	9
Joe Mullen, RW	12	4	2	6
Ulf Samuelsson, D	12	1	5	6
Mike Ramsey, D	12	0	6	6
Jeff Daniels, LW	12	3	2	5
Shawn McEachern, LW	12	3	2	5
Troy Loney, LW	10	1	4	5
Dave Tippett, C	12	1	4	5
Martin Straka, C	11	2	1	3
Kjell Samuelsson, D	12	0	3	3
Peter Taglianetti, D	11	1	1	2
Mike Needham, RW	9	1	0	1
Paul Stanton, D	1	0	1	1
Mike Stapleton, C	6	0	0	0
Grant Jennings, D	12	0	0	0

Also in the news that day:

-Center fielder Andy Van Slyke went 3 for 4 with a run for the Pirates in a 3-2 loss to the Chciago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

(Photo: eBay)

Playoff Stuff
Penguins

-"He's everything, as advertised." - Jarome Iginla on playing with Sidney Crosby.

-Crosby was nominated for the Masterton Trophy along with Wild goaltender Josh Harding and Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid.

-Tomas Vokoun will start Game 1?

-"I've always approached games [by considering] that if teams are thinking about me and worried about me, then they're not focused on what they have to do. That doesn't change." - Matt Cooke on his history with the Senators.

-Are the Penguins and Senators a true rivalry?

-A look at how the Penguins and Senators players did in head to head games this season.

-The complete conference semifinal schedule.

-Sidney Crosby speaks:

-Vokoun speaks:

-Brooks Orpik speaks:

-Dan Bylsma speaks, hypothetically:

Calder Cup Playoffs

-Just like their NHL counterparts, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins aren't in a hurry to name their starting goaltender for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Providence Bruins.

-After the jump: The Rangers win a convincing Game 7 against the Capitals and the Bruins win a shocking game 7 against the Maple Leafs.

The Garage League NHL finally got around to releasing its schedule for the conference semifinal round before the 11 o'clock news in Hawaii.

The Penguins' series with the Senators will feature two separate two-day breaks between the first four games.

Here is the complete schedule for all four series with national television broadcasters.

EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES I	TIME (ET)	#1 vs. #7	Networks
Tuesday, May 14	7:30 p.m.	Senators at Penguins	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
Friday, May 17	7:30 p.m.	Senators at Penguins	NBCSN, CBC
Sunday, May 19	7:30 p.m.	Penguins at Senators	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
Wednesday, May 22	7:30 p.m.	Penguins at Senators	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*-Friday, May 24	7:30 P.M.	Senators at Penguins	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*-Sunday, May 26	TBD	Penguins at Senators	CBC, RDS
*-Tuesday, May 28	TBD	Senators at Penguins	CBC, RDS
SERIES J	TIME (ET)	#4 vs. #6	Networks
Thursday, MAY 16	7:30 p.m.	Rangers at Bruins	NBCSN, TSN, RDS
Sunday, MAY 19	3:00 p.m.	Rangers at Bruins	NBC, TSN, RDS
Tuesday, MAY 21	7:30 p.m.	Bruins at Rangers	NBCSN, TSN, RDS
Thursday, MAY 23	7:30 p.m.	Bruins at Rangers	CNBC, TSN, RDS
*-Saturday, MAY 25	TBD	Rangers at Bruins	TSN, RDS
*-Monday, MAY 27	TBD	Bruins at Rangers	TSN, RDS
*-Wednesday, MAY 29	TBD	Rangers at Bruins	TSN, RDS
WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES K	TIME (ET)	#1 vs. #7	Networks
Wednesday, May 15	8 p.m.	Red Wings at Blackhawks	NBCSN, CBC
Saturday, May 18	1 p.m.	Red Wings at Blackhawks	NBC, CBC
Monday, May 20	7:30 p.m.	Blackhawks at Red Wings	NBCSN, CBC
Thursday, May 23	8 p.m.	Blackhawks at Red Wings	NBCSN, CBC
*-Saturday, May 25	TBD	Red Wings at Blackhawks	CBC
*-Monday, May 27	TBD	Blackhawks at Red Wings	CBC
*-Wednesday, May 29	TBD	Red Wings at Blackhawks	CBC
SERIES L	TIME (ET)	#5 vs. #6	Networks
Tuesday, May 14	10 p.m.	Sharks at Kings	NBCSN, TSN
Thursday, May 16	10 p.m.	Sharks at Kings	NBCSN, TSN
Saturday, May 18	9 p.m.	Kings at Sharks	NBCSN, TSN
Tuesday, May 21	10 p.m.	Kings at Sharks	NBCSN, TSN
*-Thursday, May 23	10:30 p.m.	Sharks at Kings	NBCSN, TSN
*-Sunday, May 26	TBD	Kingsat Sharks	TSN
*-Tuesday, May 28	TBD	Sharks at Kings	TSN

*-If necessary

(Photo: Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)