The Los Angeles Kings defenceman Mikey Anderson (left) tries to disrupt the San Jose Sharks left winger Evander Kane’s puck control (right) at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sat Apr 3, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 3-2 against the Kings in Los Angeles Saturday for their fourth win in a row. Sharks goals came from Kevin Labanc, Evander Kane and Dylan Gambrell. Martin Jones made 35 saves for the win. Dustin Brown and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves in the loss.

This four game win streak has brought the Sharks within one point of a playoff position. After the game, Sharks Captain Logan Couture said:

“Definitely happy with how we’ve played this last stretch. I could be wrong, but I think we won six of eight. So, playing pretty good hockey, playing our brand of hockey that the coaching staff wanted us to play. Took us a little while to get here, but with new systems it does take a while sometimes. So, happy with where we’re at right now.”

He is not wrong. The Sharks have won six of their last eight. Their goaltender, Martin Jones, has won seven of his last ten starts.

The Sharks scored early again, with a goal at 4:37 of the first period. Kevin Labanc took a shot into a mass of bodies in front of the net. The puck bounced around in the traffic before going in off of a defender. Assists went to Nikolai Knyzhov and Evander Kane.

Dustin Brown tied the game at 6:55. Anze Kopitar sent the puck to the net from the boards and Brown tipped it in before jumping over Jones. Assists went to Kopitar and Alex Iafallo.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic sustained an upper body injury during the first period and he did not return for the second or third. The injury may have occurred early in the first and Vlasic only played about six minutes. Bob Boughner said that the defenseman would be reassessed in the morning.

The Kings outshot the Sharks 18-5 in the first. They got a little help there from one power play but that was only worth two shots to them. The Sharks were good in the face-off circle, winning 53% of them.

Evander Kane gave the Sharks their second lead of the night at 15:04 of the second period. Couture’s backhand feed from below the goal line found Kane going to the net. Kane held onto the puck with defenders closing in him. He waited until the last moment, with the puck almost out of reach ahead of him, them swept it in at a bad angle with Quick at the top of the blue paint. Assists went to Couture and Labanc.

Trevor Moore tied it back up for the Kings with a short-handed goal. With under a minute left in the period, Moore battled for the puck in the neutral zone and won the battle. He slowed by the net and managed to poke it in after his first shot rebounded back to him.

The shots were near even at 11-10 Sharks in the second. The teams each had a power play in the second but neither penalty kill allowed a shot. the Kings won the face-off battle 60%-40% in the period.

Dylan Gambrell scored the game winning goal at 15:23 of the third. John Leonard sent the puck deep into the o-zone and Jonathan Quick went behind the net to collect it. He found himself under more pressure than anticipated and wound up turning the puck over to Leonard, who sent it right up to Gambrell who had an open net. That was Gambrell’s third goal of the season.

There was just one penalty in the third period, and it went to Los Angeles. The Sharks power play got two shots on the net but were still out-shot by the Kings 9-7 in the period. The Sharks finished the game with a 53% face-off win percentage.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks back in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.