Recap: Kings 3- Sharks 2

Chardougla   1 January 2017

The Sharks would not get their first 5 game winning streak of the season, as their streak was snapped by their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks started slow, and ultimately could not overcome the early deficit despite a furious attempt at a late comeback.

In the first period, the Sharks started slow, and Tanner Pearson capitalized, rifling a shot to the high glove side of Jones. The Kings would keep the pressure on, and only the heroics of Our Lord and Saviour kept this game a one goal game, as the Sharks were outshot in the first 20 minutes 13-6.

The Kings would extend their lead in the second, with Drew Doughty adding his 6th on the season during a Kings power play. There would be some questionable calls in the game, particularly on late calls in the second period, one on Burns, and a makeup calls against the Kings.

The Sharks would capitalize on this in the beginning of the third, with the Wookie, Brent Burns, getting his 15th goal of the season on a very rare power play goal, and it began to look like the Sharks would be able to turn the tables, until a defensive breakdown allowed Jeff Carter to walk in alone on Martin Jones and snipe one, top corner, for his 20th goal of the season. The Sharks would answer, as rookie sensation Kevin Labanc would score his 7th goal to bring the Sharks within one, but the Sharks just weren’t able to pull out the W tonight, despite a flurry of chances with Jones pulled at the end of the game.

At the end of the day, the Sharks looked like a team that was playing its second game of a back to back. They started slow, and despite waking up in the third, ultimately did not have enough gas in the tank to overcome their slow start. It’s a tough way to end 2016, but the only thing to do is look ahead to Tuesday, when they get the Kings at the Tank.

Stat of the Day:

The Sharks are 21-1-1 when they hold their opponents to 2 goals or less. They are 2-12 when allowing the other team to score more than 2 goals.