Tag: David Rittich

Kings Pulverize Sharks 8-1, SJ’s Lund Scores Again

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev had a busy evening trying to stop Los Angeles Kings shots. Here the Kings Adrian Kempe scores on Georgiev in the second period at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sun Mar 30, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 8-1 on Sunday night, losing to the NHL’s best home team at this point in the season: the Los Angeles Kings. Phillip Danault, Adrian Kempe (2), Trevor Moore, Warren Foegele (2), Andrei Kuzmenko and Trevor Lewis scored for the Kings.

David Rittich made 22 saves in the win for LA. Cam Lund scored for the Sharks, his second in his third NHL game. It was also the second time Lund scored the Sharks’ only goal in a loss. Georgi Romanov made 28 saves in the loss.

While the Kings held a significant advantage in the standings over the Sharks, they had incentive to win. First, the Sharks were leading the series due to some wins early in the season. Secondly, the Kings are racing the Oilers for home ice in the playoffs. They were not likely to drop this game.

The Kings scored first, just at the expiration of a power play at 5:35 of the first period. Quinton Byfield caught Trevor Moore’s pass from below the goal line and sent it across the ice to Phillip Danault for a slap shot goal.

The Sharks had a two man advantage for over 90 seconds at 10:37 but could not convert. They were hampered by missed shots and failure to keep the puck in Los Angeles got a power play shortly after the Sharks’ one expired.

Adrian Kempe scored during the final seconds of that power play, making it 2-0 at 15:13. Anze Kopitar set Kempe up by carrying the puck to the net and then passing it back out to Kempe for a snap shot. Drew Doughty also earned an assist.

At the end of the first period, the shots were 8-7 Los Angeles.

The Sharks were back in the penalty box less than three minutes into the second period, after Cam Lund tripped Quinton Byfield. This time, the Sharks killed the penalty and pushed back hard enough to score.

Cam Lund came out of the box and gathered up the puck by the Sharks blue line, then went the other way. He dropped it to Ferraro just inside the zone and went to the net. There, he caught the rebound created by Ferraro’s shot and put it away.

Three minutes later, Trevor Moore made it 3-1 with a wrist shot. Assists went to Kopitar and Andrei Kuzmenko.

Less than three minutes later, the Kings were back on the power play with Ferraro in the box for hooking Kempe. The Sharks killed that off and, 12 seconds later, Ferraro went back to the box for tripping Kevin Fiala.

Late in that power play, Warren Foegele made it 4-1 with a third power play goal. Assists went to Brandt Clarke and Byfield.

In the last minute of the second period, Foegele scored his second of the night with a redirected shot that trickled under Romanov. Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty got the assists.

With just 23 seconds left in the period, Kempe scored his second of the night. Vladislav Gavrikov and Andrei Kuzmenko got the assists.

The shots were 17-8 Kings during the second period.

Almost four minutes into the third period, a fight resulted in multiple penalties, giving the Sharks a power play. They could not convert but they had a chance to stem the bleeding.

At 14:49 of the third, Andrei Kuzmenko scored with a wrist shot from high in the slot, shooting through two Sharks defenders and over Romanov’s shoulder. Assists went to Kopitar and Gavrikov.

At 15:22, Trevor Lewis made it 8-1 with a wrist shot. Assists went to Jacob Moverare and Jordan Spence.

A giveaway by the Sharks gave Romanov a chance to stop a breakaway by Jeff Malott, one-on-one. He did so.

Roster notes: Jimmy Schuldt unavailable to play, but Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup for his 18th game of the season on his 38th birthday. This game was Romanov’s second career NHL start and his fifth NHL appearance.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 7:00 PM PT in Anaheim against the Ducks.

Sharks Blow Out Kings 7-2, Celebrini With 2 Goals

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Macklin Celebrini center (71) who scored two goals for the San Jose Sharks celebrates his third period against the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Nov 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharls defeated the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 on Monday. Nico Sturm, Macklin Celebrini, Fabian Zetterlund, Alexander Wennberg and Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 22 saves for the win. Brandt Clarke and Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings. David Rittich made 14 saves in the loss.

The game generated some very good numbers for San Jose. Macklin Celebrini became just the third 18 year old Sharks player to have a multi-point game. The first was Jeff Friesen, the second was Patrick Marlowe. Additionally, the last time the Sharks scored five goals in a period at home was in 2015.

After the game, Mario Ferraro talked about how the game felt early: “They had a good start to the game. They were hemming us in quite a bit at the beginning. And then I think [Sturm] finishing that off just helped calm us down, calm the game down a bit.” It took the team a while to turn that calm into scoring but they got there.

The above-mentioned goal came at 1:47 of the first period. Nico Sturm scored with a wrist shot off of a breakaway and a pass from Mario Ferraro. Askarov also got an assist.

That was it for scoring in the first period. The teams finished even in shots on goal at six. The Sharks had one power play and another a few seconds before the end of the period.

The Sharks did not score on that power play to start the second. Soon after it elapsed, the Kings tied the game. Brandt Clarke took a shot from inside the right faceoff circle, after the Kings entered the zone with a lot of puck movement. Assists went to Adrian Kempe and Anze Koptar.

Anze Kopitar gave the Kings a lead at 8:58 with a backhand shot, cleaning up a stray puck after Adrian Kempe’s shot did not go in. An assist also went to Warren Foegele.

Fabian Zetterlund tied the game back up at 13:59. His attempt to center the puck from below the goal line went off of a Kings defender and into the net. Assists went to William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini.

In the second period, the Sharks started on the power play but took two penalties after that and were outshot by Los Angeles 12-5.

1:03 into the third period, Macklin Celebrini carried the puck up the ice and into the zone and then scored with a shot into the top corner. Assists went to Henry Thrun and Jan Rutta.

A little more than a minute later, Timothy Liljegren made it 4-2. His shot came from just above the faceoff circle. An assist went to Will Smith.

Los Angeles challenged that goal for goaltender interference. Mario Ferraro did skate through the crease but he made no contact and was out of the crease before the shot happened. The goal stood up, putting the Kings on the penalty kill. Ealry in that power play, Warren Foegele was called for tripping Celebrini, giving the Sharks more than a minute of five-on-three power play time.

Celebrini scored a power play goal with a slap shot off of a William Eklund pass. Will Smith got the secondary assist.

Alexander Wennberg made it 6-2 with a power play goal at 10:46. Wennberg deflected a shot from Jake Walman on the blue line. Wennberg won the face off to get the puck to Walman as well.

Luke Kunin made it 7-2 at 18:39. He chased down a stray pass in the neutral zone and then carried it through traffic to the net for the shot.

The Sharks next play on Wednesday at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose against the visiting Ottawa Senators.

Still Winless, Sharks Fall 3-2 to Kings; Foegele scores twice for LA

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San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) fights Los Angeles Kings left wing Andre Lee (47) with Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson (6) behind and holding Kunin in the first period Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Oct 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Jordan Spence and Warren Foegele scored for the Kings and Mikael Granlund scored for the Sharks. David Rittich made 24 saves for the win. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves in the loss. The loss gave the Sharks the dubious honor of being the second team in NHL history to lose the first eight games of the season in consecutive seasons.

All three of the Kings’ goals were scored in just over seven minutes during the first period. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “Just can’t do that in the first period in this league. We did some good things in the second and third. We’re still giving up too many chances.”

Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund talked about how the team played better in the second and third periods: “When we move the puck and we actually make plays and have fun, you know, that’s part of [hockey]. When we do [that] kind of stuff we look like a really good hockey team.”

Jordan Spence gave the Kings the lead at 4:31. After some back and forth in the neutral zone, Trevor Moore got control of the puck and the Kings skated up ice at speed. Just inside the zone, Moore passed the puck to Spence for a snap shot. Phillip Danault also got an assist.

Warren Foegele made it 2-0 at 8:47, poking the puck past Blackwood and Henry Thrun in a net-front battle. An assist went to Alex Laferriere.

Foegele scored his second at 11:36, tipping a shot from Brandt Clarke just below the blue line. Laferriere also got an assist.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had been outshot 17-7, but they had not been short-hamded yet. They did get two power plays.

Mikael Granlund got the Sharks on the board with a power play goal at 10:05 of the second period. Catching a pass from Jack Thompson, Granlund put the puck in the top corner with a wrist shot. Alexander Wennberg also got an assist.

In the second period, the Sharks took two penalties and had two power plays. The shots were even at seven each.

Granlund scored a second power play goal in the final minute of the game with a wrist shot from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Thompson and Wennberg.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Kings 4-3 in Shootout, Couture Scores in SO; San Jose wins second straight game in LA

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Logan Couture (39) the San Jose Sharks center and team captain with the Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) meet at center ice with former Los Angeles Rams running back Marshall Faulk (28) for the pre game puck drop ceremonies at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in a shootout on Monday. Fabian Zetterlund, William Eklund, Justin Bailey scored for the Sharks in regulation. Zetterlund and Logan Couture scored in the shootout. Kaapo Kahkonen made 44 saves for the win. Trevor Moore, Quinton Byfield and Drew Doughty scored for the Kings and David Rittich mdae 24 saves in the loss.

Midway through the second period, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro sustained a lower body injury going into the boards after a hit by Trevor Lewis. He dragged himself to the bench and did not return to play. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said that he expects Ferraro to miss at least “a couple games.”

Ferraro’s injury left the team short one defenseman for roughly half of regulation. After the game, Quinn said:

“Yeah, it was a gritty one. Listen, obviously we went down to five D there and you could see our D getting tired and they turned it up a little bit there in the third and towards the end of the second. But we just kept battling and competing and I give our D-corps a ton of credit. They turned it up and we answered.”

In a scoreless first period, the Sharks were out-shot by the Kings 18-6. They picked things up in the second. With an extra skater on during a delayed penalty, Fabian Zetterlund scored with a snap shot in the slot at 7:46. Assists went to Mike Hoffman and Tomas Hertl.

William Eklund made it 2-0 with a snap shot at 9:06.. Skating into the zone with Nico Sturm, Eklund caught Sturm’s pass and took the shot from inside the left circle. Assists went to Sturm and Jan Rutta

Trevor Moore got the Kings on the board with a snap shot at 17:06. From the right circle, he put the puck into the far corner. An assist went to Kevin Fiala.

Quinton Byfield tied the game with a slap shot at 1:33 of the third. Adrian Kempe centered the puck from near the goal line and Kahkonen could not get across in time to stop Byfield’s shot. Assists went to Kempe and Jordan Spence.

Justin Bailey gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 6:07. Skating in on a breakaway, Bailey’s wrist shot went under Rittich for Bailey’s third of the season. An assist went to Ryan Carpenter.

Drew Doughty tied it again on the power play with six Kings skaters on the ice. He scored with a slap shot from just below the blue line at 18:02. Assists went to Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield.

The game went through overtime, during which the Sharks had just two shots to the Kings’ five. In the shootout, Logan Couture and Fabian Zetterlund scored. Kahkonen stopped shots from Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe.

The Sharks were out-shot by the Kings 47-27 in the game. They won 54.7% of the draws. Logan Couture led the team in face-offs, winning 9 of 14 draws.

The Sharks next play Tuesday, back in San Jose against the New York Rangers at 7:30 PM PT.

Demoralized Sharks Fall 5-1 to Kings; SJ dealt their sixth straight loss

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The Los Angeles Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) put the puck on net for a second period goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (31) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wed Dec 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The Kings’ goals were scored by Kevin Fiala, Trevor Lewis, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Adrian Kempe, who scored twice. David Rittich made 24 saves for the win. Fabian Zetterlund scored the lone Sharks goal and Kaapo Kahkonen made 38 saves in the loss. This was the sixth loss in a row for the Sharks.

Although the Sharks won the first period of the game, their power play showed signs of what was to come. The Sharks power play registered no shots on net and gave up two short-handed shots. After the game, Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said:

“Really it was a tale of two games. I thought the first twenty-five minutes we played well, I thought we had some great chances. Then we got blitzed with two goals in five seconds, six seconds, whatever it was and that’s happened to us too often and you could just feel it again. And it just got away from us, we got demoralized and our power play really hurt us.”

When asked how the team can cope with collapses like giving up two goals in 13 seconds, Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund said “we just have to have a couple good shifts, get the pucks deep, and play boring hockey… and then we can take it from there.”

The Sharks scored the only goal of the first period. Fabian Zetterlund scored with a snap shot on a breakaway at 11:02. It was his 10th goal of the season. The period was almost penalty-free, with just one call against the Kings at 18:23. At even strength, the Sharks outshot the Kings slightly with eight shots to the Kings’ six.

The Kings tied the game at 2:57 of the second period. Kevin Fiala scored with a wrist shot on a breakaway. An assist went to Jordan Spence.

13 seconds later, Trevor Lewis stole the puck from Mario Ferraro by the Sharks net and scored with a backhand.

Pierre-Luc Dubois made it 3-1 at 12:26, off a rebound from Arthur Kaliyev’s shot from high in the slot. Assists went to Kaliyev and Alex Laferriere,

The Kings outshot the Sharks 17-11 in the second period. The teams each took one penalty, overlapping by 24 seconds, in the middle of the period.

Adrian Kempe made it 4-1 at 3:36 of the third period. From between the circles, Kempe tipped a shot by Matt Roy. Assists went to Roy and Carl Grundstrom

Kempe’s second goal came with an impressive zone entry, skating past and around three Sharks to score with a wrist shot. Assists went to Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty. That goal came at 15:42.

The third period saw a flurry of penalties, starting with a fight at 5:29 that garnered an additional roughing penalty for Alex Laferriere. The Sharks then took two more penalties in the period. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won just 40.7% of the draws. The shot count was very lopsided, 20-6 Los Angeles, for a game total of 43-25 Kings.

Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald was placed on IR. Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was ill and so Magnus Chrona was called up as backup.

The Sharks next play on Thursday back in San Jose against the Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 PM PT.