San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer can’t stop the puck as it sails glove side for one of five Los Angeles Kings goals at SAP Center in San Jose on Fri Nov 25, 2022 on California Golden Seals throwback sweater night (AP News photo)
By Jerry Feitelberg
The San Jose Sharks (7-13-3) hosted the Los Angeles Kings (12-19-2) Friday night at the SAP Arena in San Jose. The Kings, coached by Todd McLellan, skated past his former team and won the game 5-2.
The Kings scored the first goal of the night with 8:55 played. The Kings Jaret Anderson-Dolan beat goaltender Sharks James Reimer for the tally. Anderson-Dolan’s snapshot got by Reimer on the short side of the net. Blake Lizotte and Drew Doughty assisted. The Sharks evened the score when Kevin LaBanc put the puck over Kings’ goalie Jonathan Quick.
It was LaBanc’s fourth goal of the year. Tomo Meier and Tomas Hertl assisted. With 3:53 left in the period, Radim Simex was sent to the penalty box for tripping. The Sharks almost killed the penalty, but Phillip Danault scored the Kings’ second goal of the game. Assists went to Viktor Arvidsson and Sean Durzi. The Kings lead 2-1 after the first period.
The Kings dominated play for most of the second period. With 4:39 played, Arvidsson’s wrist shot got through Reimer’s pads and trickled into the goal for the tally. Kevin Fiala and Sean Durzi recorded assists. The Kings lead 3-1. Things were not going well for the Sharks until late in the period.
The Sharks’ power play, with 4:41 left, was killed by the Kings. It appeared the Kings would go to the locker room leading by two. However, as the fans know, things can change in the blink of an eye. Sharks’ forward Alexander Barabanov intercepted a Kings’ pass in front of the net. Barabanov’s wrist shot beat Quick for the Sharks’ second goal. LA leads 3-2 after two periods of play.
The Kings scored twice in the third period to win the game. With 2:51 played, Rasmus Kupari’s shot broke through Reimer’s pads for the score. Reimer appeared to block the shot, but the puck somehow squirted through Reimer’s legs. The Sharks could not get anything going in the third period.
They went on a power play with 5:38 left. The Kings’ penalty killers did their job. The Sharks pulled Reimer with more than three minutes left to play. The six-on-five Sharks attack failed when Anze Kopitar put the puck into an empty net to give the Kings a 5-2 advantage.
Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Sharks are 7-13-3. San Jose has won only one game at home so far this year. Reimer, at home, is 0-8-3. The Sharks remain in seventh place in the Pacific Conference. The Kings improved to 12-9-2 to remain in third place in the Pacific Conference. They trail the Seattle Kraken by one point for second place.
The Kings had a goal waved off early in the first period. Adrian Kempe put the puck past Reimer 42 seconds into the game. Shark’s coach Dan Quinn challenged the call. After a review, the call was overturned as the Kings were offside.
The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks at the SAP Arena on Sun Nov 27th. With a faceoff at 5 pm.
17,950 fans watched the Sharks lose for the 13th time this year.
Sports Radio Service 