(Sports Network) - The defending Stanley Cup champions will kick off the second round on home ice, as the Los Angeles Kings host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals. Watch all the action unfold live on TSN and TSN Mobile TV at 10pm et/ 7pm pt and get interactive with our Game Night Blog in the Game Tracker. With their first-round victory over St. Louis, the Kings became the first team in NHL history to win five straight playoff series despite opening each set on the road. In Round 2, however, the Kings will open a playoff series at home for the first time since 1992. As the Western Conferences eighth seed a season ago, the Kings knocked off the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes and New Jersey Devils to win their first ever Stanley Cup championship and did so without home-ice advantage in any of the four rounds. Los Angeles also opened up the 2013 postseason on the road with a rematch against the Blues and dropped the first two games of the series in St. Louis before rebounding to win the next four contests. All six games were decided by a single goal and the fifth-seeded Kings finally grabbed a series advantage by winning Game 5, 3-2 in overtime on defenseman Slava Voynovs winner eight minutes into the bonus frame before taking Game 6 by a 2-1 margin at home. It was the Kings 10th straight victory at home dating back to the regular season. "I think were confident now," said Kings center Mike Richards. The Kings will now get ready to open their first playoff series at home since the 1992 division semifinals against the Edmonton Oilers. Los Angeles lost that series in six games and hasnt won a set it opened at home since beating Vancouver in six games during the 1991 division semifinals. L.A. is 4-5 all-time in the playoffs in sets that begin at home. After averaging 2.73 goals per game during the regular season, the Kings averaged just two per contest versus the Blues, but turned up the defense by yielding just 1.67 goals per game. A lot of the credit should go to netminder and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Quick, who allowed more than two goals in a game just once during the series with the Blues. Even more important, Quick did not get rattled after losing the first two games of the set following an inconsistent regular season. He ended Round 1 with a 1.58 goals against average, .944 save percentage and one shutout. The sixth-seeded Sharks turned in a solid four-game sweep of the Northwest Division-champion Vancouver Canucks in the opening round. However, San Jose hopes its poor play on the road this season doesnt prevent it from getting past the Kings in the second round The Sharks went just 8-14-2 on the road this season, negating an outstanding 17-2-5 mark at home. So, there had to have been a sense of relief when the Sharks won their first two games in Vancouver before opening up the home portion of its playoff schedule with a 5-2 victory in Game 3. San Jose then showed its resilience, again rallying from behind to win the series-clincher 4-3 in overtime. "In the past you kind of felt the pressure. This year we didnt feel that way and maybe that carried through into third periods," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan about his teams mindset in this postseason. "Were a loose group, playing free. (Theres) not a lot of expectations that are put on us from the outside that have been on us in the past." The Sharks used an excellent power play to get by the Canucks, scoring seven of their 15 goals on the man advantage. All three of Logan Coutures first- round goals came on the power play, while Joe Pavelski also scored a trio of goals on the man advantage. That helped the duo pace the Sharks with eight points each, taking some pressure off of expected scorers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Not that the two didnt do their jobs, with Thornton notching four power-play assists as part of his six first-round points. Marleau added four goals and an assist versus Vancouver. In addition to killing off two of 10 short-handed situations, the defensive story was goaltender Antti Niemi, who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win a Stanley Cup in 2010 but had been less than impressive during his two playoff runs with the Sharks. That all changed in the first round, with the 2013 Vezina Trophy finalist winning a pair of overtime games while posting a 1.86 goals against average and .937 save percentage. In front of Niemi, McLellan continued to spread his minutes out between his six defenders. Dan Boyle (23 minutes) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (22 minutes, 40 seconds) were the team leaders, while Justin Braun, Brad Stuart, Matt Irwin and Scott Hannan all averaged at least 17 minutes of ice time per game. That also allowed former blueliner Brent Burns to remain up front at forward, where he notched a goal and two assists. Boyle, Burns and Hannan combined for two goals and seven points, while forward Raffi Torres provided some energy with 14 hits to along with solid speed. Depth could be an issue for the Sharks in Round 2. Forward Martin Havlat did not play after Game 1 due to injury and he is not expected to return until at least Game 3 of this series. Veteran Scott Gomez filled in for Havlat in the last round. Fellow forward Adam Burish, a key penalty-killer for the Sharks, is also expected to miss the entire second round with an upper-body injury suffered in Game 4 against Vancouver. This will mark just the second postseason meeting between these two Pacific Division rivals. The Sharks got the best of the Kings in six games during the 2011 conference quarterfinals. Thornton, Marleau and Couture all had two goals and three assists in the set, while Pavelski had three goals. The Kings and Sharks split four regular-season meetings this year, with each team winning twice at home. The Sharks and Kings faced off in their respective regular-season finales, with L.A. notching a 3-2 win. Los Angeles has won six of its last seven at home versus the Sharks, but has dropped six in a row in San Jose. Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Thursday in L.A. Air Force 1 Clearance Cheap . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Air Force 1 Cheap Wholesale . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. http://www.airforce1clearance.com/ . 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The solitary nature of the run forces me to turn inward, and as a goal-oriented overachiever with a fear of failure, I hate the introspection that these runs cultivate.The thought of spending hours wrestling with my body, willing it to keep going, with no distractions and no community support makes me question my sanity. Ive tried all of the recommended tips and mental tricks, as well as fitness gadgets and apps to make solo running for long distances better.Only one thing has done the trick: virtual runs.I joined two virtual running groups on Facebook because of my love for Harry Potter --?Nerd Herd Running, with money going to the nonprofit Stupid Cancer, and the Hogwarts Running Club, who donates to a different organization every race. When I ran the Dementors Kiss 5K with the Hogwarts Running Club, we raised $45,000 for Miles for Cystic Fibrosis. I liked the idea that the money I spent fueling my running habit also had a larger purpose.Virtual races are runs of a predetermined length that can take place at any location of your choosing during a particular week. You pay the race registration fee and receive a runners bib in your email. Certain running groups require that you submit a proof of time, and after a couple of weeks, you receive a finishers medal.These races dont require travel, so theyre easier on the wallet. And best of all, there are no long lines at the porta-potty.For me, these runs are the perfect combination of nerd culture and running community. Running is one of those activities I never thought I would do. I abhorred physical exercise as a child. I was sedentary in my early 20s from a combination of depression and self-loathing. I wanted to be invisible.One phone call changed my life.It was my 27th birthday, and I needed serious convincing that I should live another year. My childhood friend Jillian called. Buried under the floral comforter in my bedroom, iPhone on speaker, I told her that I am not sure I wanted to continue living.She persuaded me to make a list of all the things I couldnt do, but that I dream of doing. On my list was a completing a marathon.Jill suggested we start small, with a princess-themed 5K. We registered, trained and finished the race together. From there we took on 10Ks and half-marathons and multiple-day challenges.Ive been running, off and on, ever since. Exercise is my version of Defense Against the Dark Arts.?I let my imagination loose on these runs.***Its 5 a.m. when my earbuds go in, and the fusion of sight and sound begins a seamless transition to the Harry Potter Universe. My mind fills in the gaps of my elaborate fantasy. Everyday sights and sounds, with theeir metronomic regularity, transform into rhythmic spectacle.dddddddddddd.My environment becomes animated -- lampposts change into floating candles, illuminating my path. The local YMCA, which towers above the rest of the landscape, morphs into the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, strong dramatic architecture silhouetted against an enchanted navy sky.For the first half of my run, I evade the dark forces. Halfway through, my left heel is sore, and my right knee threatens to be uncooperative.I stop.Thats when the Dementors show up. In the Harry Potter Universe, theyre mystical figures shrouded in black gossamer cloth, and they thrive on despair. Their main purpose is to suck the happiness and good memories out of the people that they come across.In my mind theyre always hovering on the periphery, waiting time until I let my guard down. Doubt doesnt take long to blossom once its taken root -- I know that from near fatal bouts with depression. Those brushes with the spectral always left me listless and unmotivated, wracked with nightmares and harboring the belief that I was devoid of talent.I have to keep running. I make it past a large tree Ive dubbed the Whomping Willow before I was forced to stop again. Up ahead I see a Boggart, a shape-shifting creature that takes on the form of the thing you fear most.The resurrected corpse looks like me, but smells like betrayal -- wet, decaying flesh giving way due to neglect. Brain slightly atrophied, cloaked in anger, frustration and fear. She utters sharp, mean statements: I am not fast. I am not brave. I am a failure.My run has a new sense of urgency, to prove the other me wrong, to conquer the things that threaten to drown me if I ever give myself permission to think about them.I am the protagonist. I cant outrun this variant of myself. I have to face her. I surrender to the run; I stop obsessing about the time.I pull the terrible memories and places out of myself and leave them on the pavement. In this alternate universe, I could be gifted and hardworking, and villains were always vanquished, even though all enchantments come with a price. I dont have to be fast -- I just have to finish.Monsters, after all, can be defeated. I know I deserve to cultivate hope, to have peace. I understand it is my right to be happy. My creativity allows me to believe in the incredible, to not be limited by the bounds of my own experience. I know, at the end of all of this, that I can endure.Latria Graham is a writer, editor and cultural critic. She is currently living in South Carolina. Follow her @LGRaconteur Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '