Joe Thornton Doesn't Let Sharks Lose Their Bite Joe Thornton after an overtime goal in the first round; he led a late-season revival, though San Jose now trails Los Angeles, 3-2. LOS ANGELES - The jovial San Jose Sharks captain, Joe Thornton, has managed to laugh off plenty of criticism in his career, once joking that he would much sooner spend his time perusing Playboy than reading anything in the hockey press. Yet as his team faces elimination in Sunday's Game 6 against the Los Angeles Kings, Thornton, known affectionately as Jumbo, is less the aim of blame and more the focus of both his teammates" trust and his opponents" efforts. "Jumbo's play has been essential moving forward," Sharks Coach Todd McLellan said. We're focused on playoffs right now, but our playoffs started a month and a half ago, just to get in and compete, and he led that resurgence as well. The Sharks have plenty of escapes from peril and savvy adjustments to draw upon from earlier in the season. They surmounted a 2-0 deficit to tie this series, demonstrating the kind of determination that carried them to the playoffs after a prolonged slump. In March, the Sharks appeared to be circling the drain as they slipped out of the playoff picture with a punchless offense. They had won just two games in February, the same number of times they had managed to score more than two goals. Thornton's leadership and three-zone play powered a late-season surge, which included a seven-game winning streak. San Jose was able to secure the sixth seed in the West before sweeping the Northwest Division champion Vancouver Canucks in the first round. Thornton's eventual running mates originated from unusual spots in the lineup. Brent Burns was an All-Star defenseman who converted to right wing in March, scoring 20 points in 24 games skating primarily with Thornton. Previously a depth forward, left wing T. J. Galiardi added speed to the attack and notched 11 of his 14 points this season after moving up to Thornton's line. "I don't know whose idea it was, but whoever it was is brilliant," Thornton said of the unconventional combination. We were in kind of a downward spiral. We weren't scoring much up front. Burnsy came up front and added another weapon for us. It really did save our season. Despite trailing by 3-2 in the series, the Sharks have reason to remain hopeful heading to San Jose. They are 4-0 at HP Pavilion this postseason, and the home team has won every game of this series. They also possess a power play that has been irrepressible at home, scoring 9 of their 13 home playoff goals and converting at a league-best 37.5 percent on home ice. Of the four goals they have scored at home in this series, three have come on the power play. Thornton has played a critical role in San Jose's success with the man advantage and in seemingly every other aspect of the Sharks" game. Although he finished with a minus-2 rating in Game 5, Thornton had been on the ice for 17 San Jose goals and only one opposing score in eight previous playoff games. In San Jose's two victories against the Kings, he was a key part of every one of its four goals. He assisted on two goals, while helping to set up two more, one with a formidable screen of goalie Jonathan Quick and the other with a deft, decisive cross-ice pass to initiate a scoring sequence. "Jumbo's very accepting of what we want to accomplish as a team," McLellan said. He puts himself second and the team first. Yet the Kings were able to keep Thornton off the board offensively and even attack him a bit defensively in Game 5. Defenseman Slava Voynov's goal zipped past Thornton before beating goaltender Antti Niemi. The Kings matched all three of their top centers against Thornton at various times. "Everybody played against Thornton tonight," Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. He's a handful; everybody has to. The Kings may have done even more than quell the momentum of Thornton, his line and his power-play unit. For the first time in the series, the Kings played with considerable speed and consistent aggression, dishing out 51 hits to San Jose's 24. Quick recorded his second shutout of the series. Reshuffled forward lines gave the Kings a fierce straight-ahead attack. The Kings also gained their first advantage of the series in the face-off circle, cleaned up their breakouts and tightened their forechecking. "That's the way we have to play to be successful, be physical, be first to pucks and get on the body," said Kings defenseman Matt Greene, who delivered two timely checks on Sharks forwards Galiardi and James Sheppard in Game 5. The Kings won their 13th consecutive game at home but have struggled on the road, dropping 10 of their last 11, a stark contrast to last season, when they won an N.H.L.-record 10 straight road games en route to the Stanley Cup. Both coaches said the distinct home-ice advantage and a lack of even-strength scoring were strong indicators of how even the matchup had been. "Home teams winning, low scoring, 5 on 5 is at a premium, both teams are keeping shot totals down," McLellan said. It's stuck to the script so far; it's our job to change it a little bit.