The LA Kings were shutout for the first time this year as they lost a physical affair to the San Jose Sharks 2-0.
Martin Jones stopped all 28 shots against him to get his third shutout of the season and his 100th career win, while Marcus Sorensen and Joe Pavelski scored the goals for the Sharks.
Jonathan Quick was the lone bright spot for the Kings, as he kept his team in the game by stopping 29 of 31 shots. Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty had the most opportunities with four shots on goal each, but could not beat Jones.
Going into the Christmas four day break, the Kings failed to keep pace with the Vegas Golden Knights and allowed them to come into a tie for first place in the division with three games in hand.
“Listen, we’re still in a really good spot,… said Anze Kopitar after the game. “I don’t think there was a lot of people thinking we were going to be in this spot to begin with. So we realize we can’t sneak up on anyone anymore.…
The bright side for the Kings, and anyone who’s a hockey fan, coming out of the break they will be facing the Golden Knights for the second time this year. On top of that, it will be a night where Dustin Brown is honored for his 1000th game, so the Kings will be raring to go.
“I think it’s really, really nice that we start at home and you don’t have to travel so [we] can spend an extra afternoon with [our] families and close ones,… said Kopitar. “[It] should be fun.…
Despite the fact that the game ended 2-0 in San Jose’s favor, it was a game that could have gone either way. The scoring chances were 13-11 for San Jose and 8-5 San Jose on five-on-five.
Scoring started midway through the second period when Marcus Sorensen picked up the puck at the point after two Kings crashed into each other. He then managed to dangle his way into the slot and put the puck past Quick to make the score 1-0.
After that, Jones and Quick were matching each other save for save until halfway through the third period when Brent Burns took a point shot on the power play and Pavelski tipped it past Quick to give the Sharks the two goal cushion.
Try as they might, the Kings just couldn’t find a way to get the puck past Jones to get any momentum.
“I think it was a pretty even hockey game,… said John Stevens. “It was a man’s game out there tonight. San Jose is another defensive team in the league, they don’t give anything for free. I thought we created good looks and when we did [Jones] was really good. I thought [Quick] gave us a chance to win the hockey game, we just needed a little more from more.… As mentioned coming out of the four day break the Kings will be hosting the Vegas Golden Knights in a battle for first place in the Pacific Division. The Knights have overcome their adversity of having to play five different goalies this season and have become a top team in the league, second place to be exact.
In the month of December they are 8-1-1 heading into their three day break before they travel to Anaheim to take on the Ducks. It will be a back-to-back situation for them so there’s a possibility that Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban will split the games. It will be interesting how Gerard Gallant uses his goalies in this scenario.
On a final note, happy holidays to all Kings fans and I hope we can expect great things in the new year for the Kings.