LOS ANGELES -- It was, in many ways, the kind of moment that epitomized Joe Pavelski as a player and a leader.
Twice on the same play, the San Jose Sharks captain beat Anze Kopitar, once on a clean faceoff win, then by fighting off the Los Angeles Kings star on a wraparound that beat Jonathan Quick.
That game winner, which came 17 seconds into the third period Thursday night, was just so typical Pavelski, the low-key Wisconsin native whose 38 goals were fifth in the NHL this season but once again very much under the radar compared to other, more celebrated snipers around the league.
"Big-game guy for us. He's our captain for a reason," Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said after his team's 4-3 Game 1 victory. "He scores a lot of key goals. He led the league in game-winning goals. He's been clutch like that all season for us."
This is how Pavelski leads. By his actions. He said there was no pregame speech from him Thursday before the game.
"There's been enough talking this week," said Pavelski.
In fact, the Sharks room was calm -- excited yet measured, he said. They're slight underdogs in a matchup against the Kings that has all the markers of a long series.
But if one of these teams needed a Game 1 victory more, it had to be a Sharks side that lost the final four games of their series with the Kings two years ago after going up 3-0.
The Sharks were clearly motivated to send an early statement Thursday night. And make no mistake, the score was flattering to a Kings team that was for the most part outplayed, especially in its own zone. It got worse when defenseman Alec Martinez, who had missed the last four games of the regular season, didn't come out for the third period after blocking a shot. The Kings can't afford to lose him again. Their depth is already being tested on the back end.
But credit the Sharks' forecheck, which created havoc all night in the King zone, forcing turnovers and the allowing San Jose forwards to jump on loose pucks.
"I really liked our forecheck tonight, I thought we turned over a lot of pucks, we pinned them in, I thought we looked fast for large parts of the game," said DeBoer.
Leading the way was Joe Thornton's top line with Pavelski and Tomas Hertl.
"That whole line has been dominant for us all year and they were again tonight," said Sharks star blue-liner Brent Burns, who also had a solid Game 1. "The line has got three big bodies that hold on to pucks and make big plays."
Pavelski scored twice, and Hertl's second-period goal was a big one, coming just 30 seconds after Trevor Lewis scored a beauty of a shorthanded goal that would normally have built some momentum for the the Kings as they went up 3-2. But with Hertl coming right back on the next shift to tie it 3-3, it set the sage for Pavelski's third-period tally.
On this night, San Jose's big boys were better than L.A.'s.
"Limit their time and space," Kopitar answered when asked how to quiet the Sharks' top players. "Make sure we check them correctly. At the same time, make them defend, too. We didn't do a good enough job, we have to correct that."
Indeed, much of this game was spent in the Kings' end.
And what the Sharks showed in Game 1 was that their 3-1-1 record against the Kings in the regular season -- including two wins here at Staples Center -- was no fluke. San Jose never showed any panic in its game Thursday night, responding strongly each time the Kings scored.
It was yet another road win for a team that led the NHL with a 28-10-3 record away from home this season.
"I think it's a testament to the character and grit and heart of our group, and leadership," DeBoer said of the excellence on the road. "We travel more than any other team in the league. These guys get off the plane, don't make excuses, show up and work. And we've been rewarded for that."
But nobody in the Sharks' dressing room was looking too elated or relieved.
"It's just one game," said Burns. "We got to keep going. It's going to be hard. It's what we expected, back and forth all night. It's what you expect from a California series, I guess."