Clock Strikes Midnight on San Jose Sharks’ Comeback Attempt in Loss to the Kings
It's the continued pain of losing inflicted on the San Jose Sharks. 0-6-2 to start the season, the Team in Teal began to fight back but were ultimately beaten by the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. A game in which San Jose didn't start well allowed the Kings to run out to a 3-0 lead, and Mikael Granlund's best efforts to drag his team back into the game were in vain as the offensive issues struck again.
Los Angeles opened the scoring. A bad Sharks turnover entering the Kings' zone allowed LA to break up the ice. Kevin Fiala forced the turnover where Philip Danault picked up the loose puck. Danault sent it forward to Trevor Moore, who drove up the ice and set up a cross-ice pass for Jordan Spence at the blue line. San Jose's defense fell asleep, and there was no hope of that. The Kings were 1-0 less than five minutes into the game.
Before the halfway point of the first period, the Los Angeles Kings would strike again. Alex Laferriere sent the puck behind the Sharks net, where Warren Foegele picked up the loose puck. With the Sharks defense still getting back, the speedy winger tried a wrap-around but was denied. However, the rebound set up for Foegele to deposit into the net and double the King's lead.
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Foegele would grab another after the halfway point of the first period. As Laferriere picked the puck up inside the Sharks zone, he turned to send it to Brandt Clarke. Clarke's shot disappeared into the bevy of humanity out in front, but Foegele got a deflection on the puck, creating enough disturbance on the trajectory to give no chance to the netminder. San Jose was 3-0 down in the first, and the familiar story was playing out once more.
San Jose would fight back. On the powerplay, the Sharks were creating some pressure before Alex Wennberg got the puck back to Jack Thompson, who fired the puck over to Mikael Granlund. Granlund's rocket shot found the corner over the shoulder of Phoenix Copley, and the Sharks broke the Kings' shutout bid. The powerplay is again carrying the offensive load for the Sharks, but Granlund continues his success in teal.
In garbage time, the powerplay for San Jose would cut the lead again. A faceoff win by Wennberg got the puck back to Thompson again. Thompson again gave the puck to Granlund, who fired into the net again. It's the same combination that brought the Sharks back into this game, but there just wasn't enough time for the Team in Teal to get back into the game. It's a 3-2 loss at Crypto.Com Arena, and the Sharks need to return to the drawing board.