Los Angeles Kings hope Game 2 comeback set tone for series

Not all playoff victories are created equal. Nor are losses.

But the way the Kings won Game 2 could loom large over this Western Conference semifinal series, with Game 3 on Saturday night at San Jose.

The Sharks had rallied from a two-goal deficit and were carrying a lead into the final two minutes of play Thursday night at Staples Center. Normally, if a team scores three times against Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, that is enough to win, a point on which both coaches agreed.

“First off, if you score three goals you should win in the playoffs,” Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. “That is fact. Write that down.”

The Kings’ great escape could weigh psychologically on a San Jose team that will rely heavily on its ability to win at home. The Sharks lost only twice in regulation at the HP Pavilion this season and won both games at home in their first-round sweep of Vancouver.

San Jose Coach Todd McLellan insisted that this version of the Sharks is far more resilient than teams they’ve had in the past and he believes they are still capable of getting back in the series.

Still, the Sharks have not won a playoff series after losing the first two games. They will try to rally without the services of forward Raffi Torres, who is suspended for the remainder of the series for his Game 1 hit on Kings center Jarret Stoll.

The Sharks finally issued a statement Friday “strongly” disagreeing with the NHL’s decision to suspend Torres.

“Although it’s unfortunate that Jarret was injured on the play, we feel this decision is grossly unfair to . . . Raffi, his teammates and our fans,” Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson said. “However, Raffi does not want to be a distraction to his teammates and has decided not to appeal this suspension and we respect that decision.”

Stoll, who is believed to have suffered a concussion, is out indefinitely. At the suggestion of medical personnel, he was not at Staples Center for Game 2, to avoid the impact of crowd noise and arena lights.

The Kings were down another center for a stretch in the third period Thursday after Anze Kopitar was hit in the face with a puck shot by linemate Dustin Brown. Kopitar required stitches but returned later in the period and reported no lingering effects Friday.

“He finally gets some stitches in his face,” said Sutter. “There goes the modeling career. Best-looking Slovenian athlete. . . .

“Hockey players are different than other athletes. They get hit in the face and they get cut and go in and get sewed up and you come back and play.”

Kopitar joked about the modeling career line, saying that “ship has sailed a long time ago.” He took a stick in the face earlier in the season, also at the hands of Brown.

“I guess the stick was not enough so he had to shoot the puck in my face too,” Kopitar said. “I guess when you come out of the situation with a couple of stitches, it’s not too bad. I wanted to make sure it was nothing serious. It was really a no-brainer to come back. I’m sure everybody else in this room would do the same thing.”

Injured defenseman Matt Greene said he planned to travel with the team to San Jose. Another injured King, forward Kyle Clifford, practiced Friday but has not been cleared for contact.

Greene was in a lounge near the dressing room with the other extra players Thursday, and he said they could experience the emotion during the third-period comeback.

“That was awesome,” he said. “Guys were going nuts. It was pretty special to see a comeback like that. You could feel the energy. It’s pretty crazy, man. Playoffs, anything can happen.”

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

Twitter: @reallisa