San Jose Sharks Sweep Back-To-Back With 4-2 Win Over the Los Angeles Kings
Your San Jose Sharks have won two in a row, completing a clean sweep of a back-to-back against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Los Angeles Kings to get themselves a point away from jumping off the bottom of the standings. It's a winning streak for the Sharks, as they are 4-2 winners thanks to a second consecutive three-point game from Jake Walman. San Jose is winning games; it's been so long and feels so good.
It started with the defenseman getting his first goal as a San Jose Shark. An offensive zone win let Nico Sturm win a battle to swing the puck back to the point where a Walman blast beat everything. It found the back of the net early in the second period to break the deadlock and give the Sharks an early lead. San Jose continued their momentum after the miracle in Utah with the first goal tonight.
Los Angeles got it back as Trevor Moore entered the offensive zone. Brandt Clarke fired a shot from the blue line that Vitek Vanecek did not handle well, and it bounced over him and into the crease where Akil Thomas had all the time in the world to slide the puck into the open net behind. You'd like Vanecek to handle that better, but he didn't. That's why he was a cap dump to the San Jose Sharks.
However, Fabian Zetterlund would bail the Czech netminder out. Alex Wennberg would touch on a pass from Walman to the Swedish winger as the Sharks move up ice. As Zetterlund entered the zone, he fired one low to the far side of the netminder, beating the goaltender and restoring the Sharks lead. Zetterlund continues to build on his fantastic game in Utah as the Sharks go up 2-1.
Life isn't so easy, and especially not for Shark fans. Los Angeles won a battle in the corner for a loose puck as Warren Foegele forced the puck free. It popped out into the slot for Alex Laferriere as those two continue their success against the Sharks after the first time this season these two teams met, and it's a 2-2 game. Poor defensive play left Vanecek exposed; there is little he can do there.
However, the game's decisive moment would come from the former Stanley Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings. Jake Walman kept the puck at the offensive blue line and fired a puck into the slot for Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli deked the goaltender out and lifted the backhand into the net to restore the Sharks' lead. The curse of the former player struck the Kings, and the Sharks led late.
William Eklund hit the empty net, and the Sharks, who started the season 0-7-2, are now 2-7-2 and just a point adrift of several teams at the bottom of the standings. San Jose has won two in a row, and the Sharks are not far away from getting promising young rookie Macklin Celebrini back from his stint on the injured reserve. Things are looking good for the future of the team in teal.