NHL Network presents: Game 6 2011 WCQF: Sharks vs. Kings

All summer long, NHL Network will be replaying the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs -- from every jaw-dropping goal to every highlight-reel save to every crushing defeat.

Each game of the postseason -- spanning the more than two-month period from the opening round to Boston's Game 7 clincher of the Stanley Cup Final -- will be shown on the Network throughout the offseason.

Fans can tune in at 8 p.m. ET nightly for a different game -- and different chance to re-live history. A complete program schedule can be found on NHLNetwork.com.

After leaving San Jose with a Game 5 win, the Los Angeles Kings were hoping to make a quick return for a potential Game 7. In order for that to happen, L.A. needed its first home win of the series in Game 6. The Sharks, who still maintained a 3-2 series lead, had won both prior games in Southern California, scoring six goals in each one.

San Jose continued its solid play on the road in Game 6, never trailing in the matchup. But each time the Sharks took a lead, the Kings responded, erasing 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 deficits. On the third occasion, Trevor Lewis notched a power-play goal with 8:21 remaining in regulation to knot the game at 3-3. Just under five minutes later, L.A. had a tremendous opportunity to take the lead when Jamie McGinn was handed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for charging. However, Antti Niemi proved to be the Sharks’ best penalty killer, making a couple of clutch stops on Ryan Smyth and Dustin Brown to send the game into overtime.

Los Angeles, which scored twice with the man-advantage earlier in the game, still had 1:37 of power-play time to begin OT, but didn’t even register a shot on goal. Not only had the Kings’ golden chance to win Game 6 slipped away, but less than a minute after the penalty ended, their season had as well. Sharks captain Joe Thornton slid a loose puck past Jonathan Quick at 2:22 of overtime to give San Jose a 4-3 win and eliminate L.A. from the playoffs. Thornton’s first career postseason OT goal clinched this Western Conference quarterfinal series for the Sharks in six games, with three of their four wins coming on the road and in overtime.

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