Playoff Berth Is Near

The Kings acquired Kelly Buchberger from Atlanta because of his extensive playoff experience. His first goal as a King helped ensure he will gain more postseason experience with his new team.

Buchberger, who played on three of the Edmonton Oilers’ five Stanley Cup-winning teams, provided the King offense Wednesday in a hard-hitting 1-1 tie with the San Jose Sharks before a sellout crowd of 18,118 at Staples Center. The point kept the Kings fifth in the Western Conference playoff seedings with 87 points, five ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes and the Oilers. The Kings can clinch their second playoff berth in seven seasons with a victory or tie Saturday against the Mighty Ducks.

“It’s always nice to score, especially after you get traded,” said Buchberger, who converted a rebound at 19:18 of the first period for his first goal since Dec. 23. “I thought we fought really hard. There was a lot of hitting, a lot of sacrificing for the team. It builds momentum for the playoffs.”

The Sharks, who lost leading scorer Owen Nolan to an injured left shoulder after two periods, retained the eighth and final spot with 81 points, three more than the Ducks and the Vancouver Canucks.

“I think this was a Kelly Buchberger kind of game, and one of the reasons we wanted to secure his services,” King Coach Andy Murray said after his team extended its unbeaten streak to 2-0-2. “I think we had 19 other Buchbergers tonight. Everybody was playing gritty. . . . It was probably the most physical game we’ve played all year.”

The Kings outshot the Sharks, 33-25, but the Sharks nearly won the game in overtime when center Vincent Damphousse raced up ice on a breakaway. To the Kings’ delight, he shot wide to the right after goaltender Stephane Fiset gave him little to shoot at.

“I didn’t have time to think much,” Fiset said. “I told myself to be patient. He tried to shoot to my glove side, high, and he missed the net. I guess I was covering most of the net.”

Fiset was helpless on San Jose’s goal, by Niklas Sundstrom at 8:17 of the second period. “It was a good shot from the point [by Mike Rathje], and I tried to deflect it into the corner, and the guy was right there,” Fiset said. “He had the puck right on his tape. Sometimes they get a lucky bounce.”

Buchberger’s goal, his sixth this season, was typical of his style. He skated up the right wing and put the puck on net, simply hoping for a rebound. Steve Shields sank to his knees, getting his body in front of the puck, but he couldn’t control it. Sean O’Donnell swatted at it, but it struck Shields’ left leg before hitting the post. Buchberger, unchecked by the right post, was able to swat it in.

“[O’Donnell] made a great play,” said Buchberger, who was acquired from the Thrashers with Nelson Emerson for Donald Audette and Frantisek Kaberle on March. 13. “It was just kind of lying there.”

The Sharks pulled even during a power play, at 8:17 of the second period. While Steve McKenna served a roughing penalty, the Sharks moved the puck well around the Kings’ zone and finally got it to Patrick Marleau in the high slot. Fiset repelled Marleau’s shot with his stick but couldn’t stop Sundstrom from converting the rebound.

That represented a rare power-play success for San Jose, which had scored only three power-play goals in 40 chances in its previous nine games.

“I thought Fiset was real solid,” Murray said.

Murray made sure his team paid attention to Nolan, the NHL’s second-most prolific goalscorer with 44. But instead of matching lines, Murray sent out the defense pair of Rob Blake and Mattias Norstrom whenever Nolan’s line came onto the ice, and the duo was effective against the ever-dangerous Nolan.

Since the Sharks traded Mike Vernon to Florida in a three-way deal that brought them winger Todd Harvey, Shields has had to fend off questions about whether he’s a top-notch goalie who can carry a team. The 2.60 goals-against average he took into the game wasn’t especially impressive, but he made several brilliant saves early in the third period.