Recap: Kings 2, Sharks 1

Golden State Gopher   4 January 2017

Buckle up, chumps. I'm less qualified for this job than Donald Trump is for his.

Facing off against the LA Kings for the second consecutive game, the Sharks dropped a heart-breaker to their arch-rival in overtime. Mirco Mueller got to see his first game action of the season, since the Sharks, already down Marc-Edouard Vlasic to an injury, lost David Schlemko as well.

The Kings got the better of the chances in a mostly uneventful first period, outshooting the Sharks 16-6. Gritmeister Mike Haley provided the most notable highlight, leveling Dustin Brown. Both goalies played well, and the 1st intermission arrived with the score deadlocked at 0-0.

The second period provided the first scoring of the night. Logan Couture took a pass from Kevin Labanc and squeaked it past Peter Budaj to stake the Sharks to a 1-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, Marian Gaborik batted in a power play goal to tie the game, but upon review it was ruled that Gaborik knocked the puck in with his glove. The period ended with that same score, 1-0.

The third period brought more action to a relatively quiet game. Jeff Carter scored on the power play for the Kings early in the period, and after that the pace of the game picked up significantly. Both goalies held fast, however, and the game went to overtime tied at one.

The overtime period was a short one, and Tanner Pearson scored his tenth goal of the season just 58 seconds into overtime, taking advantage of a Sharks turnover. The Sharks managed just a single point over their home-and-home with Los Angeles, but increased their Pacific Division lead over Anahiem to 2 points. Thanks to everyone who got their coverage of tonight's game from SJSharktank!

Fun Fact of the Night

The Sharks are 0-0-1 in games in 2017 in which Mike Haley plays.