San Jose Sharks Shut Out By Quick, Stalock Strong Again
Jan 27, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) checks Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) as center Trevor Lewis (22) and San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski (8) fight for possession of the puck during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks (34-13-6, 74 points) fell to the Los Angeles Kings (30-18-6, 66 points) by the final score of 1-0 at the SAP Center. The loss ends San Jose’s six-game winning streak and is good news for a struggling Kings team which has been struggling as of late.
It was another tight game between two of the west’s best rivals and if the L.A. Kings were in a slump they did not really show it this evening. They were their usual selves taking away time and space with a mixture of physicality and tenacity. The Kings were especially great on defense where there held the Sharks to nine shots in the first two periods, three of which came from Bracken Kearns. In the third period San Jose would pour it on though and add 14 for a total of 23 for the game.
After a stalemate in the first period Anze Kopitar would finally break the scoreless tie with just over two minutes left in the second period. Kopitar was on a two-on-one with Jeff Carter who fed the pass to Kopitar. The pass was deflected by a back-checking Brent Burns, but Kopitar was still able to corral the loose puck and then proceed to avoid an Alex Stalock pokecheck before sliding the puck beyond the San Jose netminder.
The San Jose Sharks would start the next period with the remaining minute or so of a man-advantage drawn at the end of the second period and were finally able to get pucks on the net, but Jonathan Quick made the saves those save look routine. Still, the Sharks looked to gain some offensive momentum.
The Kings, who still had the 1-0 lead, would then earn a four-minute power play after Joe Pavelski whacked goal scorer Kopitar in the face and drew blood. The Sharks were able to kill the penalty off though and once again gain some momentum through a great defensive penalty kill.
The San Jose Sharks would start to pour it on offensively with about five minutes remaining. Eventually this would lead to their one last chance with 1:13 left and an empty net after a timeout, but a mixture of great defense by the Kings at their blue-line and great goaltending by Quick allowed Los Angeles to hold off the Sharks and take the 1-0 win.
GGS 3 Stars
1. Jonathan Quick (23 saves)
2. Alex Stalock (20 saves)
3. Anze Kopitar (1 goal)