SAN JOSE
– Three points separate the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles at
the top of the Pacific Division after the Kings pulled out a 5-4
overtime win Wednesday night at sold-out HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE – Three points separate the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles at the top of the Pacific Division after the Kings pulled out a 5-4 overtime win Wednesday night at sold-out HP Pavilion.
Dustin Brown’s goal 1:16 into the extra session pushed the streaking Kings to 41 points. San Jose, earning the one point when Manny Malhotra’s goal 12:19 into the third period pulled the Sharks even at 4-4, have 44 points in first place in both the division and atop the NHL standings.
Los Angeles, winning at HP Pavilion for the first time since Nov. 28, 2007, scored two power play goals in five opportunities.
“Our penalty killers let us down,” said Sharks coach Todd McLellan. “They did some uncharacteristic things, trying to stretch things, trying to go on offense. That’s not how we’ve done things.”
The Kings bounced back from a 2-1 deficit after one period to hustle to a 4-3 advantage entering the third period.
Los Angeles drew even at 2-2 with 1:32 gone in the period. Defenseman Jack Johnson’s hard shot from the blueline was tipped by Jarret Stoll in the low slot and dropped past goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.
Torrey Mitchell went to the San Jose penalty box at 5:04 for tripping King captain Dustin Brown. The Kings needed 39 seconds to take a 3-2 lead when Drew Doughty found Anze Kopitar open at the left post for the tap-in goal.
The Kings had a 4-2 lead when Doughty stroked a long shot from the top of the right circle under Nabokov at 8:32. San Jose came back with an even-strength goal at 12:38 to make it 4-3. Dany Heatley tapped the puck along the right boards to Dan Boyle. The defenseman finished the scoring play with a strong slapshot from the right circle that beat goalie Jonathan Quick.
The teams combined for three goals in the first period as a prelude to the four-goal explosion in the second.
The Kings managed only nine shots in the first 20 minutes, yet scored the first goal of the contest on the lone Shark penalty of the period.
Mitchell, playing in his sixth game of the year, was whistled for tripping Brown at the 5:00 mark. Los Angeles needed 1:12 to make it 1-0 when winger Teddy Purcell slapped a 30-footer from the left circle just as teammate Michal Handzus set up a screen in front of Nabokov.
Joe Pavelski scored an even-strength goal at 11:22 for the equalizer. Pavelski started the scoring play by stealing the puck at the red line before dishing to Ryane Clowe. Pavelski moved into position on a 2-on-1 rush as Kent Huskins fed the center with a soft cross-ice pass, allowing Pavelski to find the top right corner of the net at 11:22 for his fifth goal of the year.
San Jose escaped the period with a 2-1 lead when Patrick Marleau, at the end of a power play, pounced on a soft rebound at the top of the Kings crease, pushing across his 20th goal of the year with 36.9 second left.
Marleau tied the franchise record for the fastest 20 goals to start the season, 32 games, matching Owen Nolan’s mark set in 1999-2000. Clowe’s two assists extended his career-best point streak to 10 games.
San Jose faces the Dallas Stars Friday at 7:00 p.m. at HP Pavilion.
