An elimination game 6 in any playoff series is always great to be a part of and this one was no different as San Jose blew 3 one goal leads before finally winning in overtime 4-3 over the disappointed Kings. L.A. should’ve enjoyed a late 5 minute major penalty to Sharks forward Jamie McGinn, but as it’s plagued them all season long their power play came up empty and then San Jose said thank you very much when Joe Thornton swept in a rebound past goalie Jonathan Quick which quickly ended the season for the Kings just 2:22 into OT.

Once it again it shows how meaningless momentum can be in this game, as the Kings got their rabid sellout crowd going nuts when they tied the game at 3-3 just 18 seconds into the 3rd period on a beautiful follow up shot by Ryan Smythe on the doorstep. But once again the Sharks regained the lead 8 minutes later on an unassisted goal by Danny Heatley. The Kings actually scored a 2nd power play goal on the night when Trevor Lewis blasted one in from the right circle at 11:39 and then came that late 5 minute PP opportunity for the Kings which they only mustered up 4 shots and maybe one good scoring chance which never lit the lamp.

So the Sharks skated off with a first round Stanley Cup series win and afterwards I caught up with their hero and winning captain for his elated comments…

San Jose captain Joe Thornton with Ted Sobel:

Of course it was a very disappointed Kings locker room but they tried to hold their collective heads up high after a valiant effort as decided underdogs in this series and I first went to goalie Jonathan Quick who you could hardly fault for this loss…

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick with Ted Sobel:

The rest of the L.A. skaters were in similar moods and the following sums up their night, series and season from their captain and great young defensive duo…

Kings captain Dustin Brown with Ted Sobel:

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty with Ted Sobel:

Kings defenseman Jack Johnson with Ted Sobel:

And then I got to say my goodbyes for the season to Kings Hall of Fame TV broadcaster Bob Miller and his longtime partner Jim Fox and they both gave me their takes on this season and what to look forward to for next season…

Kings TV play by play man Bob Miller with Ted Sobel:

Kings TV color analyst Jim Fox with Ted Sobel:

So the hockey season has hit a brick wall on consecutive nights in So-Cal with the Ducks being eliminated on Sunday night in Nashville followed by the demise of the Kings tonight. Both clubs have plenty of positives to build on but don’t tell them that today as they start making tee times instead of packing their equipment bags for a 2nd round playoff series that never will be. So I guess it’s time to root for the Sharks as the final California team standing on skates but after hearing those horrid ‘Beat L.A.’ chants the past few weeks, that’s not an easy task either!

And this is how late I was at Staples Center to watch them convert the ice for the final time into a basketball floor for the Lakers big game 5 vs. New Orleans on Tuesday night-maybe I’ll see you there?…