The Los Angeles kings will look like to start another home ice point trim when they host San Jose Sharks on Sunday evening.
Kings (40-23-9, 89 points) had its franchise record 15-game homemade dash end with Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Los Angeles has second place in the Pacific Division, tied with Edmonton Oilers but with one match in his hand and has lost two straight matches.
Saturday first marked this season Kings fell in regulation time when they led after two periods.
“Each loss is frustrating, but going into the third with the lead and type of shooting ourselves in the foot there, giving them too many opportunities, kind of sucks,” said Alex Laferriere.
Laferriere’s goal had the kings forward early in the third period, but the lead disappeared with a questionable goal that got the Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, who seemed to beat down the puck with a high stick moment before he tied the game.
Toronto netted the winner during a five-to-three power play.
“You can look at that game and say it’s a kind of hockey game in the playoffs,” Laferriere said. “It’s a team that is at the top of the top list in the league, so it’s a team we can match against, and if a couple of bounces go our way, we win that game.”
Fortunately for the kings, they have a quick turn to a club in the last place, although the sharks have won the last two meetings between California’s clubs.
“I think everyone was happy for most things with how we played,” said King’s defender Mikey Anderson. “So try to build it up, come tomorrow, restore and go to it again.”
The sharks, who sit at the bottom of the league and have long been eliminated from the playoffs, had their modest two-game winning row snapped with a 6-1 who Dunker by the New York Rangers on Saturday.
As has been the case too often this season, the sharks (20-43-9, 49 points) were surpassed at the drop of the puck, which fell behind with a couple of goals for the first period and down 6-0 before scored goals.
“I would say that our young players had young games tonight,” said coach Ryan Warsofsky.
The sharks finished an eight-game homemade with a 3-5-0 record. Adding the frustration of failing to end the distance with a .500 brand was how a club that showed so much determination in an exciting victory over the Toronto Maple Leaf’s two nights earlier served a dud.
“We just got away from the way we need to play,” defender Mario Ferraro told San Jose Mercury News. “It’s a very nice line for us right now. It is quite obvious from the two games that we played well the things we did to succeed, and (Saturday) was just not one of these nights.”
The only positive thing was that Cam Lund made his first NHL goal in his second NHL game. Lund, a draft draft 2022, 34th overall, signed with the sharks after his season at Northeastern University ended.
Lund grabbed a loose puck in the right circle and lifted a shot over the glove by Rangers goalkeeper Jonathan quickly for the milestone marker and expensive souvenir puck.
“My dad has a whole collection in the basement,” said Lund, whose parents were at hand. “So I’m sure we’re putting that down.”
-Field level media
