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Quick leads Kings past Sharks

LOS ANGELES — Justin Williams scored two goals in the second period, and the Los Angeles Kings advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 on Tuesday night.Jonathan Quick made 25 saves as the defending Stanley Cup champions finished off this agonizingly even series with their 14th consecutive home victory over the past two months, including seven straight in the post-season.
Jonathan Quick
Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick makes a save against the San Jose Sharks during the third period in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs

LOS ANGELES — Justin Williams scored two goals in the second period, and the Los Angeles Kings advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 on Tuesday night.

Jonathan Quick made 25 saves as the defending Stanley Cup champions finished off this agonizingly even series with their 14th consecutive home victory over the past two months, including seven straight in the post-season.

The home team won all seven games in this thrilling all-California series, and the fifth-seeded Kings barely rode their home-ice advantage to victory in their first potential elimination game in the last two years.

Antti Niemi stopped 16 shots, and Dan Boyle scored early in the third period for the Sharks, who fell just short of their third trip to the conference finals in four years.

The Kings will face Chicago or Detroit when they attempt to reach the Stanley Cup finals for the third time. The Blackhawks host the Red Wings in Game 7 on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles has won eight straight home playoff games dating to last season’s Stanley Cup clincher, but this one might have been the toughest. San Jose pressed the action throughout the third period after Williams’ back-to-back goals put the Sharks in a mid-game hole, but Quick and the Kings’ defence hung on for a win in Los Angeles’ first Game 7 at home since 1989.

Williams scored on a power-play tap-in and a one-timer 2:57 apart early in the second, putting the Kings on top to stay. The veteran wing had an eight-game, goal-scoring drought, but the two-time Stanley Cup winner has a knack for Game 7 heroics, scoring nine points in his four career appearances in the decisive game.

Quick and Los Angeles’ defence barely held off the Sharks in a frantic third period. Quick showed off his Conn Smythe Trophy form yet again, finishing the seven-game series by allowing just 10 goals.

This series was even from the start, with neither team able to take more than momentary control.

The clubs were similarly equal in the regular season, when the Kings’ 3-2 home victory over San Jose in the finale pushed fifth-seeded Los Angeles ahead of the Sharks. That eventually led to the Kings starting a playoff series at home for the first time since 1992.

Los Angeles opened with two home victories, stealing Game 2 with a pair of power-play goals in the final minutes for the only major comeback of the series.

The Sharks responded with two solid 2-1 victories at home, keeping the Kings’ offence punchless away from Staples Center.

Quick posted his second shutout of the series in Game 5, but San Jose forced a seventh game with another 2-1 victory at the Shark Tank last Sunday.

After a scoreless first period, featuring plenty of near-miss chances but just eight combined shots, the Sharks again came out solidly in the second period, holding the Kings without a shot for nearly 19 consecutive minutes.

But the Kings finally broke through after San Jose’s Brent Burns took an interference penalty near Los Angeles’ net. Williams got the puck to the post and hacked at it until it slid behind Niemi for his first goal since Game 4 of the first round.