San Jose Sharks are unable to cope with the Kings relentless offensive in home defeat

Another game saw the San Jose Sharks' efforts fall by the wayside as they couldn't overcome the Los Angeles Kings. San Jose fell 2-1 at home, as the Kings were too good for the Sharks. Despite the relatively low score, it was a fun game. It's a difficult task to overcome the Kings, and the Sharks showed why they are where they are in the standings with the inability to overcome the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup Champions.

It started poorly when the Kings took the lead in the first. Adrian Kempe forced a turnover in the defensive zone as Klim Kostin's pass to Kyle Burroughs was picked off. Kempe used his speed to blow past the Sharks' defense and force a one-on-one situation with Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood's been so good for the Sharks all season, but he could not bail out the team here, and the Kings put themselves in front.

Los Angeles would double their lead when they broke into the offensive zone. A well-worked passing move saw Pierre-Luc Dubois carry the puck into Sharks zone. His pass over to Jordan Spence forced the Sharks to move across the ice before Spence set up Akil Thomas. Thomas fired home for his first career NHL goal. It is a feel-good story in its own right. A player who has overcome surgeries galore finally makes his debut and has a goal in the best hockey league in the world, but the Sharks are down 2-0.

However, San Jose would cut into the Kings' lead in the third. As Los Angeles kept pushing to extend their lead, the Sharks held themselves in the game long enough to pull Blackwood for the extra attacker. With the 6-on-5, William Eklund would find Mikael Granlund, who set up the Klim Kostin one-timer to cut the King's lead in half. San Jose got the injection of life they needed.

That would be where the comeback ended, though, as the Kings were able to shut the door and hold off the bottom team in the NHL. San Jose needs to find a way to move ahead now, as they managed just 16 shots in this defeat. We will see if the Sharks can push this out of their minds and move on before the end of the year and perhaps grab another two points.