Kings Vs. Canucks, NHL Playoffs 2012 Game 3: Fiesty Second Period, Score Tied At 0

After a first period that was relatively uneventful and lacking in intensity, things picked up considerably in the second period of Game 3 between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks. It's still 0-0 after two periods of play, but there was much more hitting and much more offense in the second period, with both Jonathan Quick and Cory Schneider coming up big in goal. Quick has been tested much more so far, and he has 24 saves to Schneider's 11.

There were a lot of penalty minutes handed out in the second period, but the period was defined much more by lots of excellent clean hitting from both teams. Things started getting a bit chippy when Dustin Brown issued a massive hit to the shoulder of Henrik Sedin. It looked like Brown might have hit Sedin's head at full speed, but it was a clean, hard check by Brown with no contact to the head. Sedin left the ice and went to the locker room, but would return.

Alex Burrows and Anze Kopitar fought while Kevin Bieksa picked up a penalty for roughing Brown after the hit, but the response afterwards was positive. Once Bieksa got out of the box, he tried to deliver a hit of his own to Brown, who partially jumped out of the way but couldn't completely avoid contact.

There were more penalties later on on the period, including one drawn by Ryan Kesler on Willie Mitchell for a very light cross check. With just over seven minutes remaining in the period, Dustin Penner went to the box for charging. On the ensuing power play, Vancouver was relentless. They held the puck in the zone well after Penner got out of the box, creating numerous chances over a three-minute period. Sedin incredibly played this sequence in its entirety, spending more than two consecutive minutes on the ice. He put in a brilliant shift, but Quick was better, stopping every shot that the Canucks put on net to keep the game scoreless.

For more on the Canucks, visit Nucks Misconduct. For updates on the Kings, check out Jewels From the Crown and SB Nation Los Angeles.