239-Word Recap
By the time Patrick Marleau scored at 2:35 of overtime, the Kings were left wishing he was still in Toronto, or Carolina, or still unsigned instead of lifting the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 win at Staples Center Monday night.
The Kings found themselves down 3-0 late in the second period after Erik Karlsson opened the scoring at 5:53 of the first and Timo Meier scored twice in the second. But then the once familiar sighting of the “comeback kids” was spotted by the Los Angeles faithful when Adrian Kempe started the Kings’ rally by scoring at 18:59 of the second period.
A timely Dustin Brown deflection made it 3-2 at 8:31 of the third and Anze Kopitar completed the comeback tying the game 3-all at 12:52. The game turned into an up and back affair the rest of the way with the Kings unable to capitalize on a too many men penalty to end the third and start the overtime.
After the Sharks killed the penalty, Marleau was in the right place and the right time for San Jose when Jonathan Quick attempted his once patented pokecheck on a deflected shot by Kevin Labanc, only to see it wind up on in the back of the net.
Even though no one would admit it in the locker room, for a once again struggling Kings team, stealing a point from their Northern California rivals was a welcome gift.
Game Notes
Stars of the Game—Marleau (1st), Kempe (2nd), Kopitar (3rd)… Martin Jones had 33 saves… Jonathan Quick had 21… The Kings have lost three of four games… San Jose has won nine of their last 10 games… It was Marleau’s 99th game-winning Sharks goal… Marleau’s game winner was his 556th career goal, tying Johnny Bucyk for 27th place all time… The Kings are 1-11-0 when allowing the first goal… Ben Hutton played in his 300th NHL game… Alec Martinez was taken to the hospital after he was sliced on the right arm by the skate of Melker Karlsson in the third…
Up Next: The Kings take on the New York Islanders at Staples Center on Wednesday in a pre-Thanksgiving clash.
Highlights
Sharks 1. Kings 0.
Erik Karlsson (3) from Logan Couture (20) and Evander Kane (9)
Sharks 2. Kings 0.
Timo Meier (7) from Kevin Labanc (7) and Karlsson (15)
Sharks 3. Kings 0.
Timo Meier (8) from Brenden DIllion (4) and Kevin Lebanc (8)
Sharks 3. Kings 1.
Adrian Kempe (3) from Blake Lizotte (6) and Austin Wagner (3)
Sharks 3. Kings 2.
Dustin Brown (5) from Alex Iafallo (7) and Anze Kopitar (16)
Sharks 3. Kings 3.
Anze Kopitar (10) from Alex Iafallo (8) and Adrian Kempe (6)
Sharks 4. Kings 3.
Patrick Marleau (5), unassisted
Quotables
“I’m really excited about the guys coming back, but I’m disappointed that we let ourselves get to that situation.” — Todd McLellan
More from Coach ↓↓ pic.twitter.com/cXw4RUD6uG
— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 26, 2019
“We got one late in the second that was key to the comeback. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get the 2 points in OT but it was a good fight back”@AdrianKempe reflects on how the @LAKings turned things around tonight before falling to San Jose in OT@CarrlynBathe | #LAKingsLive pic.twitter.com/g41E5rLZ14
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) November 26, 2019
Despite the OTL, the Kings showed great fight tonight. Todd McLellan is getting a lot from his boys so far.
— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) November 26, 2019
Alec Martinez Injury Update
Another look at what happened to Martinez https://t.co/7ZZvarNbJb#SJSvsLAK #GoKingsGo #LAKings pic.twitter.com/ZxYzl0CbBl
— Eric (@Kingsgifs) November 26, 2019
Todd: “Marty took a skate into that arm area and got stepped on, and he’s going to be evaluated later on tonight, and we’ll have more for you tomorrow. It’s obviously not a good situation, but it’s all I can really give you right now. If I had any more, I’d share it with you.”
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) November 26, 2019