Solid goaltending from Martin Jones helped San Jose defeat the visiting Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Monday, snapping the Sharks’ four-game losing streak.
Logan Couture and Ryan Donato scored for San Jose, and Jones worked hard to keep the Sharks ahead, making 41 saves on the evening. Kevin Labanc and Evander Kane assisted on Couture’s goal with John Leonard and Nikolai Knyzhov aiding Donato.
Matt Roy scored the lone goal for the Kings, who outshot the Sharks 42-23. Austin Wagner and Gabriel Vilardi assisted on Roy’s goal while Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in the loss. The Kings have alternated losses and wins over their past five games.
Couture opened up scoring with a cross-ice shot that appeared to bounce off Quick and Kings defenseman Kurtis MacDermid before finding the back of the net at 8:22 in the first period.
MacDermid was back in the spotlight a couple of shifts later when he and Sharks forward Kurtis Gabriel squared off and dropped their gloves. Gabriel left for the dressing room to get a few stitches after the scrap as the Sharks killed off two Kings power plays to take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
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Both the Sharks and the Kings had opportunities on the power play and exchanged plenty of offensive zone time, but both teams were stymied for the majority of the second stanza as Jones and Quick traded off turning away prime opportunities from both offenses.
Roy eventually broke up the goaltending spectacle at the 17:31 mark of the middle frame with a blast from the point that completely eluded Jones and tied the game up 1-1.
Right after killing the Kings’ fifth power-play opportunity of the evening, the Sharks burst into Kings territory and Donato muscled around Los Angeles’ defense as he wrapped around the Kings’ net and backhanded the puck five-hole to give San Jose a 2-1 lead.
Los Angeles spent a significant amount of time in San Jose’s zone for the rest of the period in an attempt to tie the game back up, outshooting the Sharks 15-4 in the third period alone. Jones was especially controlled in the last few minutes of regulation as he solidified the win.
–Field Level Media