Patrick Marleau's OT goal gives Sharks 3-0 series lead

LOS ANGELES - The San Jose Sharks found a much tougher challenge on Tuesday night, but Patrick Marleau scored in overtime for a 4-3 victory that pushed the Los Angeles Kings to the brink of elimination.

"I thought we played a pretty good hockey game," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "We were pretty good tonight and so were they."

The Sharks had scored 13 times in the first two games and seemed ready to start another blowout win when Brent Burns corralled a bouncing puck and sent it fluttering past Jonathan Quick for a power play-goal 3:16 into the game.

But this time, the Kings responded, taking two leads in the game. Just like in Game 2, though, they were unable to hold on.

"There were times where we had momentum," said Quick, who finished with 36 saves. "We just needed to keep working."

Soon after Marian Gaborik had put the Kings ahead 2-1 with a backhander on an end-to-end rush, Sharks rookie Matt Nieto fired a rocket from the blue line that went over top of a sprawled Quick.

Jeff Carter put the Kings back ahead early in the third, but another Sharks rookie, Tomas Hertl, buried a rebound behind Quick to tie the game.

"(The Kings) were out a position a couple of times and they took a couple penalties that we were able to take advantage of," said Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. "The young guys have stepped up and done a great job throughout the season. They bring a lot of energy to our team."

Quick won a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 and went to the Western Conference final last season, beating the Sharks along the way. Though the Kings were the league's top defensive team this season, the Sharks seemingly have Quick's number in the playoffs.

"I don't know how to explain it," Marleau said. "It's one of those things where he's a great goalie, so you just keep putting pucks on net and looking for your opportunities."

San Jose goalie Antti Niemi (28 saves) was a difference maker in overtime as the Kings came out swinging, bringing everything they had against a tired Sharks defense.

Then Marleau's backhander deflected off Kings defenseman Slava Voynov past an out-of-position Quick on the Sharks' lone shot at 6:20 of overtime.

"I got it on my stick and got a quick shot in," Marleau said. ""In overtime, you keep trying to fire shots on net and I got pretty lucky."

The goal pushed Niemi's record in playoff overtime games to 9-1 with San Jose and 12-2 overall.

"Niemi came up huge for us," said Marleau, who was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy earlier in the day. "We were coughing pucks up and not getting them in deep, but Niemi held us in there. He was great."

Only three NHL teams have rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.

"We have to play each game and don't worry about what's ahead of (us)," Kings center Mike Richards said. "We have to have a mindset of winning the next game and then going from there."

And what would they need to do to get that next win?

"Don't turn the puck over; don't turn it over," Richards said. "And we can't make the defense go back and get the puck every time. If we can fix that, it will go a long way."

The next opportunity is Thursday night at Staples Center. The Kings had been dominant against the Sharks at home, but that 10-0-1 run came to a halt Tuesday night.

"They're a good hockey club," Sutter said of the Sharks. "It's a tough field and we won't go quietly."