Kings advance to Western Conference finals with 2-1 win over Sharks

Final: Kings 2, Sharks 1

Justin Williams had two second-period goals and the Kings eliminated the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, 2-1, Tuesday at Staples Center.

The Kings won a team-record seventh consecutive playoff home game and advanced to face the winner of Wednesday’s Detroit-Chicago game.

Williams scored his first goal on the power play, scooping the puck over the outstretched right leg of goalie Antti Niemi at 4:11 of the second period after Niemi briefly stopped Williams’ initial attempt. Sharks defenseman Brent Burns was off the ice for interference.

Williams added to his total by converting Anze Kopitar’s sharp cross-ice pass at 7:08 of the second period. He now has five goals and four assists in four career Game 7s, including a goal and assist for Carolina in a Stanley Cup-clinching victory over Edmonton in 2006.

Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was sharp when needed and stopped 25 of 26 shots, giving way only on Dan Boyle’s slap shot from the point 5:26 into the third period. Joe Pavelski picked up the assist after preventing the Kings from clearing the zone and firing a pass to Boyle alone up top.

But Quick stopped Pavelski spectacularly with 5:04 to play, managing to get his glove on Pavelski’s close-range shot despite being on his back. He also stopped Logan Couture’s shot from the slot with a glove save with 1:19 left.

The Kings never faced a Game 7 in winning the Stanley Cup last season but improved to 4-4 all-time in Game 7s.

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Not...over...yet.

The Kings blazed through the second period but saw their lead trimmed when San Jose pulled within 2-1 on Dan Boyle’s slap shot from the point 5:26 into the third period at Staples Center.

Joe Pavelski picked up the assist after preventing the Kings from clearing the zone and firing a pass to Boyle alone up top.

Justin Williams has the Kings’ two goals so far in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

End of second Period: Kings 2, Sharks 0

Safe to say the Kings are awake now.

After a fully listless first period (Three shots. Three shots?), they rebounded in a big way with two second-period goals for a 2-0 lead in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

Justin Williams got them both against San Jose, scoring a power-play goal at 4:11 and following it up with an even-strength marker at 7:08.

With Brent Burns off the ice for interference, Williams scored the first one by scooping the puck over the outstretched right leg of goalie Antti Niemi after Niemi briefly stopped Williams’ initial attempt.

Williams then added to it by converting Anze Kopitar’s sharp cross-ice pass.

The Kings had 11 shots in the second period.

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Justin Williams scored his second goal of Game 7, giving the Kings a 2-0 lead in the second period Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks.

Williams converted a crisp cross-ice pass from Anze Kopitar at 7:08 of the period. Slava Voynov picked up his second assist of the game.

The Kings looked like an entirely different team in the first part of the period, overcoming a drearily slow start in which they had three first-period shots.

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The Kings took a 1-0 lead over the San Jose Sharks after Justin Williams scored a power-play goal at 4:11 of the second period Tuesday at Staples Center.

Williams poked the puck up and over the right skate of San Jose goaltender Antti Niemi after a stretched-out Niemi appeared to only briefly stop the puck in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Slava Voynov’s shot from the point was off target but Williams picked up the puck on the left side and eventually got it past Niemi. Drew Doughty also picked up an assist on the play. Sharks defenseman Brent Burns was off the ice for interference at 2:46.

Jonathan Quick had a big save a few minutes earlier, stopping Logan Couture’s backhand from the slot after a Kings’ turnover a little more than a minute into the period.

End of first period: Kings 0, Sharks 0

The Kings are on pace for nine shots tonight in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

That won’t get it done.

Luckily for them, San Jose wasn’t much better in the first 20 minutes, taking only five shots as the teams were tied, 0-0, after one period Tuesday at Staples Center.

The Kings earned the game’s first power play when Sharks center Joe Thornton was called for high-sticking at 12:52, but the man-advantage ended 21 seconds later when Jeff Carter was called for high-sticking.

The Kings have now killed 17 of 18 penalties (94.4%) at home in the playoffs.

Despite winning the Stanley Cup last season, the Kings haven’t been in a Game 7 since 2002. The winner of tonight’s game plays the winner of the Detroit-Chicago series, which features a Game 7 of its own Wednesday.

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