San Jose Sharks Dominate Los Angeles In 5-1 Rout
Well, that’s one way to make an opening statement. For the second consecutive season, the San Jose Sharks waltzed into Staples Center on opening night and completely controlled the hated Los Angeles Kings. In front of a national TV audience on the NBC Sports Network, the Sharks scored five straight goals to thoroughly dominate the Kings 5-1 as the Peter DeBoer era in San Jose got off to a resounding start.
Things didn’t start off exactly as planned, as Los Angeles jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 1:49 into the game on a Nick Shore deflection that got past Martin Jones. However, from that point onward, it was the Sharks who took the game to the Kings.
It was an impressive display from San Jose who cut down any speed Los Angeles tried to gain through the neutral zone. The Sharks would even things up following a nice play by Paul Martin, which led to a 3-on-1 break where Joe Thornton fired, yes he actually shot the puck, one past Jonathan Quick who would be in for a long night.
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San Jose would continue the pressure, outshooting Los Angeles 14-8 in the opening frame. The Sharks would take the lead for good behind their newly appointed captain who just keeps doing what he’s been doing. Joe Pavelski tipped home a Brent Burns shot, six seconds into San Jose’s first full power play of the night, to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead after one period of play.
The theme of the night for San Jose was perseverance and determination to back check and defend their own zone. This was on display as the Sharks were hemmed in their own zone for about two minutes following a penalty kill, but San Jose refused to give the Kings any quality looks on goal.
Then, after a Justin Braun block and clear, the Sharks applied some pressure of their own as Burns ripped one past Quick with rookie Joonas Donskoi providing a great screen in front. Two minutes later, San Jose applied the final dagger as Tomas Hertl tipped home the Sharks’ second power play goal of the night, extending the lead to 4-1 at the 8:14 mark of the second.
From there on out, it was a frustrated Kings team that was suffocated by the Sharks. All offseason, DeBoer emphasized how San Jose needed to be a better defensive and 5-on-5 team. On this night, that was on full display.
The Sharks were relentless in pursuing the puck and afforded the Kings no time or space to make a play. They frustrated Los Angeles to the tune of 11 penalties for 36 minutes, highlighted by a Milan Lucic match penalty for going after Logan Couture in the final minutes of play.
Donskoi, who acquitted himself well in his first NHL game, scored the fifth and final goal as Pavelski’s shot banged in off Donskoi more than three minutes into the third.
DeBoer had to have liked what he saw all over the ice. The Sharks were the better team and took the game to the Kings. They were aggressive and stood up for one another when things got chippy towards the end of the game.
Jones was solid in net, making a highlight reel save right before the end of the second, sliding across to deny his former roommate in Tyler Toffoli. Jones wasn’t all that busy, having to make 19 saves, but he was in position and commanded his crease well.
All-in-all, there was plenty of positive takeaways from this one. While San Jose started in last season’s opener, this had a different feel. The Sharks were the ones dictating the pace of play, and that hasn’t been the case in the past couple seasons.
San Jose had an early opportunity to make a statement to the NHL, and that’s just what they did. Now, they get a second chance on Saturday to let the Pacific know they’re a team to be reckoned with.
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