The San Jose Sharks dropped a 2-1 decision to the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center on Tuesday night.
Mirco Mueller made his season debut against the Sharks. The Winthetur, Switzerland native covered a gap on the blue line, as Marc-Edouard Vlasic missed his second straight game with a facial injury. Mueller played alongside Dylan DeMelo in the third defensive pairing in his first appearance with the Sharks since April 9.
DeMelo skated in place of David Schlemko, who remained out with an upper-body injury from Kings center Jordan Nolan on Saturday.
Both teams showed physicality in the first period, but neither team was able to capitalize on their power play chances.
The Sharks went on the penalty kill at 12:25 when Kyle Clifford took a hard hit from Brent Burns. Then, a little more than six minuters later, San Jose received a power play when Clifford threw a grimy hit on Mueller.
The Kings outshot the Sharks 16-6 after 20 minutes.
Logan Couture broke a scoreless tie at 8:04 of the second period with his 12th goal of the season to end his nine-game goal drought dating back to Dec. 10. Couture caught a puck from Kevin Labanc in the neutral zone and fired the puck under Peter Budaj’s armpit and under the net.
Things were a little more suspenseful in the second period.
Brent Burns went to the box for holding at 6:42. Alec Martinez’s goal went off of Marian Gaborik’s glove and past Martin Jones for what appeared to be a game-tying goal, but the call was overturned after a review.
Jones stopped a Anze Kopitar’s breakaway attempt with 17 seconds left in the second period to prevent a potential Kings goal.
The Kings led in shots, 24-13, but the Sharks held a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Special teams made the difference in Tuesday’s game. The Sharks scored a power-play goal in each of their last three games, but went 0-for-3 with the man advantage against the Kings.
Justin Braun went to the box for hooking at 18:12 of the third period. Jeff Carter tipped a shot from Jake Muzzin past Jones for his 21st of the season, tying the game 1-1 at 16:57 of the third period.
The two teams headed to overtime after a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation.
The Kings (19-15-4) scored the game-winning goal just 58 seconds into overtime. Tanner Pearson took a pass from Carter on the 2-on-1 and slid the puck into the net for his 10th of the season, leading his team to a 2-1 victory over the Sharks. Budaj finished with 26 saves for Los Angeles.
Despite the rough loss, San Jose collected a point. Jones made 33 saves in a losing effort.
Up Next
The Sharks (23-13-2) continue a three-game homestand Thursday night when they host the Minnesota Wild (23-9-4) at 7:30 p.m. PST on CSCA, FSN.
