by Jerry Feitelberg

 

SAN JOSE–The Sharks returned home to San Jose to face the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night. The Sharks beat the Kings 5-1 opening night in LA and tonight’s game was the second meeting of the two teams. The Kings were in control and dominated play. They won by a final score of 4-1. The Sharks won their first four games of the season but have now lost three in a row. The Kings improved to 3-3 and were just two points behind the Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks for first place in the Pacific Division.   Sharks goalie Martin Jones lost his second game of the year. Kings goalie Jhonas Enroth made his first start for the Kings and improved his record to 4-0-0 against the Sharks lifetime. The Sharks couldn’t beat him when he was with Buffalo, and they could not beat him as an LA King either. The scoring summary follows below.

The Kings put one on the board with 8:23 left in the first period, Tyler Toffoli scored his fourth goal of the season. He was assisted by Alex Martinez and Jeff Carter. Toffoli had control of the puck deep in the Sharks end and was able to poke the puck into the corner of the net for the score. The Sharks went on the power play a few seconds later when the Kings’ Jordan Nolan was called for roughing. The Kings’ penalty kill was effective as they kept the Sharks from mounting a scoring threat. The Sharks went on their second power play of the first period when Milan Lucic was also called for roughing. The Kings killed off the penalty again. Joe Thornton took a hard hit and had trouble with his balance. He left the ice and went to the Sharks’ locker room for an exam. The Kings went on a power play with 1:30 left in the period. Tommy Wingels went to the penalty box for hooking. LA scored with 27.2 seconds left to take a 2-0 lead. Milan Lucic scored his first goal of the year and his first as a Los Angeles King. Christian Ehrhoff and Jeff Carter assisted on the play. The Sharks had eighteen shots on goal compared to the Kings’ eight but LA leads 2-0

The Kings took a 3-0 lead at the 3:16 mark of the second period. Jeff Carter scored his first goal of the year and third point of the night on a one-timer for the tally. Drew Doughty picked up the assist on the play. The Sharks challenged the call, but the referees ruled it was a good goal. With 5:53 played, the Sharks were called for a 2-minute penalty for too many men on the ice. The Sharks did a good job, this time, killing the penalty. The Kings have another power play at the 12:29 mark. The man-advantage lasted 27 seconds when Alex Martinez was called for tripping. It will be four-on-four for a minute and thirty-four seconds. The Sharks still cannot mount an attack. They had a chance but Kings’ goalie Jhonas Enroth made a chest-high save to thwart the attempt. The Sharks finally scored at the 15:06 mark of the second period. Joe Pavelski, from behind the Kings’ net, sent the puck out to Joel Ward. Ward sent it past Enroth for the score. Assists go to Pavelski and Brendon Dillon. The Sharks went on a power play when Jaime McBain was called for interference. The Sharks have a two-man advantage for 33 seconds as Brayden McNabb was called for cross-checking. The Sharks failed again on the power play. The Kings have a 3-1 lead after two periods of play. Sharks continue to lead in the shots on goal category 30-19.

The Kings scored on a power play just six seconds after Mike Brown went to the penalty box for interference. Jeff Carter scored his second goal of the night and second goal of the season. Carter also had two assists in the game. The goal was unassisted. Sharks’ goalie Martin Jones had trouble handling the puck, and it squirted just over the goal line for the tally. The Kings lead 4- 1 with a little over ten minutes left in the game.  The Sharks couldn’t score, and the game ended 4-1 in favor of LA.

Notes- Attendance at the Shark Tank was 16,797. The Sharks meet the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night at the SAP Center in San Jose at 7:30 pm.