Kings overcome shark comeback and shootout for narrow victory – The Hockey Writers Los Angeles Kings Latest news, analysis and more

Brandt Clarke scored the winning goal with just over six and a half minutes left in the third period as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3 despite leading 40-14.

The Sharks overcame a 3-0 deficit to tie the game. Darcy Kuemper made 37 saves for the Kings, who finished a five-game road trip with four wins and at least one point in each game.

Game To summarize

After about nine minutes of back-and-forth, the Kings had the first big chance of the game when a number of Sharks passes led to a turnover and subsequent tripping penalty on Timothy Liljegren. Los Angeles did not score on the power play, but kept the puck in the ensuing seconds. When Clarke’s shot hit the post, a fight ensued at the net between Corey Perry and Yaroslav Askarov, which Perry won by tapping the puck over the goal line.

The Sharks had two power plays the rest of the period – a hit to Jeff Malott and a high stick from Clarke – but were unable to capitalize on either. The Kings cleared most of the Sharks’ zones on the first, and while the Sharks were more in sync on the second power play, putting four shots on net, Kuemper turned them all aside.

Although San Jose dominated most of the early second period, it didn’t show on the scoreboard. The Sharks made 13 of the first 15 shots of the period, but the other two went for Kings goals. On the first, Los Angeles took possession of the puck deep in their own zone and worked it over the boards, creating a rush that ended in a wrist shot for Malott from the top of the circle.

The second came at the end of a long shift, and while the Kings could completely change, the Sharks could not. This put the Sharks out of position and gave Drew Doughty space to run down and fire in a high shot, which became his first goal of the season and the 161st of his career, tying the record for a Kings defenseman. The Sharks continued to push and controlled possession of the puck for much of the period. However, they could not get past Kuemper.

They finally broke through with their 14th shot of the frame. After Will Smith took a shot that went wide, San Jose retained possession, and Macklin Celebrini handled the puck around the net before a great lookout pass to Smith, who connected with a wide-open net. Less than two minutes later, the Sharks scored again thanks to further sustained control and another great pass down, this time from Alexander Wennberg to Philipp Kurashev, who scored for the first time since San Jose’s season opener. The period ended with the Kings leading 3-2.

In the third period, Malott’s second penalty of the match gave the Sharks another power play. After a few good chances, but few actually on goal, San Jose tied the game when Malott returned to the ice. Kurashev returned Wennberg’s favor by finding the Swedish center with a great pass of his own. While it was technically an even-strength goal, in all but name it was a power play goal.

A Doughty penalty gave the Sharks another power play, but despite several great looks – the best from Michael Misa – they could not get past the go-ahead goal, with Kuemper making several good saves. Misa showed visible frustration on the bench after the match.

After the Kings were able to create possession a little longer, they used a good break from the defensive zone to get the puck to Adrian Kempe. He hesitated and used his patience to perfectly time a cross-ice pass to Clarke, who had room to fire a shot to Askarov’s glove side for the lead.

In the closing minutes, San Jose pulled Askarov for an extra skater and even got a power play thanks to a game delay penalty from Joel Edmundson. Despite a flurry of shots, no one found the back of the net. Kuemper made some saves, the Los Angeles skaters blocked some and others just missed the Sharks.

The Kings improved to 5-3-3, while the Sharks fell to 2-6-2. Both teams next play at home on Thursday (October 30), Los Angeles against the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose against the New Jersey Devils.