Every time they meet a rival this season, the Kings seem to have a chunk of their playoff hopes bitten off and spat aside.

Martin Jones made 32 saves to stifle his former team again as the San Jose Sharks beat the Kings, 5-2, on Friday night at SAP Center. The Sharks have won six of the seven meetings between the two teams this season, and L.A. has won just two of its 10 clashes with its in-state rivals, the Sharks and Ducks, both of whom jockeyed around the Western Conference basement with the Kings last season.

Winger Alex Iafallo and center Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored for the Kings, and Cal Petersen made 24 saves as they lost for the seventh time in their last nine games overall.

Wingers Kevin Labanc, Patrick Marleau and Rudolfs Balcers scored for San Jose, as did centers Dylan Gambrell and Tomas Hertl. Defenseman Brent Burns registered three assists and winger Evander Kane had two.

Elsewhere in the West Division, Arizona lost to Colorado, St. Louis shelled Minnesota, 9-1, and Colorado defeated the Ducks, 2-0. The Kings remained seven points behind fourth-place Arizona for the final playoff slot, and St. Louis pulled within one point.

“We’re not idiots. We know where we are in the standings,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “But to use ‘end of the road’ and ‘next year,’ at this time, that’s not what we’re doing.”

The Kings scored first – a harbinger of victory in 11 of the 13 previous games in which they opened the scoring – but they allowed San Jose to score second, third and fourth, falling behind 3-1 in the first period. The Kings have been outscored by 18 goals in the opening period this season, second-worst in the league to Ottawa’s minus-21.

“Getting the first goal was a positive, and then we hit the snooze button for a little bit,” center Kopitar said. “The next thing you know, we were down 3-1 and that’s certainly not the recipe for success.”

The Kings got on the board 2:27 into the game. Iafallo tipped the puck into the offensive zone to set up an exchange between Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. Iafallo drove the middle, received a pass from Brown and potted his 10th goal of the season, popping the puck up and under the crossbar with a firm finish.

Eight minutes in, the Sharks knotted the score. Burns’ pass from behind his own net sent Labanc ahead with speed. He whirred through three zones and flicked a wrist shot that deflected off defenseman Drew Doughty’s stick upon release. A fluttering, knuckling puck went end over end past Petersen’s left shoulder.

With 6:10 left in the first frame, Burns set up another goal. His centering pass deflected in off winger Patrick Marleau’s skate, giving San Jose its first lead and Marleau the 566th goal of his career.

Marleau, 41, closed to within five games of the all-time record for NHL games played. He has played more games (123), scored more goals (44) and recorded more points (97) against the Kings than he has against any other franchise.

The Sharks doubled their advantage 2:43 to play in the opening period. Defenseman Erik Karlsson sent a pass from blue line to blue line for winger Timo Meier, resulting in a partial breakaway. Meier sent a rising backhand toward Petersen, producing a rebound that Balcers pounced on for a backhand goal.

The second period lacked rhythm and lacked offense as the two teams combined for a solitary shot in the first seven minutes. While the shot totals were generally even, it was San Jose gaining higher quality chances throughout the first half of the game.

Life came at Petersen quickly when he had to slide across his crease to make a superb save on Labanc from between the faceoff circles.

Later in the period, Iafallo and forward Trevor Moore both had breakaways. Defenseman Kurtis MacDermid won a fight against Jeffrey Viel, and winger Andreas Athanasiou fought forward Marcus Sorensen as well (and the two had a rematch at the end of the game). But the Kings drew no closer, as any offense they did generate was quelled by Jones.

The third period began with a folly that gave the Kings life. Sixty-two seconds into the final frame, Anderson-Dolan heaved the puck from a sharp angle, and it banked off Jones’ skate into the net. It was not headed for the highlight reel of Jones, who has otherwise enjoyed considerable success against the Kings this season and in general.

Jones quickly regained his form, fending off the pressing Kings. With less than six minutes remaining, he robbed forward Jeff Carter’s bid from the doorstep with an aggressive pad save.

With 4:05 left, the Kings drew a penalty but their power-play opportunity turned out to be their undoing. They allowed their second short-handed goal of the season. Burns appeared to be clearing the puck but instead sent Kane and Gambrell ahead on a shorthanded two-on-none rush that Gambrell finished easily.

The Kings killed all three penalties they took, but were also 0 for 3 on the power play and surrendered a backbreaking short-handed goal. It was one of several chances they gave up where a long pass led to a dangerous rush and, in three cases, a goal.

“I thought I was going to get a lot of questions about the breakaways, the power play, all the chances that we didn’t capitalize on, but it’s the garbage that we’re giving up defensively,” McLellan said. “Long chances again, every time we play against this team it’s a long chance, a poor pinch, a poor cover and it’s in our net, and we chase the game night after night after night.”

Hertl added an empty-net goal, and the Kings had lost their fifth straight matchup with the rival Sharks.

“We know now that every game’s big so there’s certainly no need for more motivation, more fire or anything,” Kopitar said. “Every game’s a four-point game, we just haven’t managed to win them.”

from Irvine Business Signs https://ift.tt/3d7tNDy
via Irvine Sign Company

from Irvine Business Signs https://ift.tt/3d4aRWw
via Irvine Sign Company

signsanaheim

See Full Bio