SAN JOSE, Calif. – Ryane Clowe scored the lone shootout goal in the fourth round and Antti Niemi stopped Mike Richards to lead the San Jose Sharks to their fourth straight win, 2-1 over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.
Logan Couture scored in regulation for the Sharks, who matched their longest winning streak of the season following a stretch of five losses in six games. Niemi made 28 saves.
Richards scored the lone goal for the Kings, who had won their previous two games in a shootout. But Dustin Brown, who had the winners in those two contests, was stopped by Niemi in the third round this time. Los Angeles has scored fewer than three goals in regulation for 14 straight games — the longest such streak in franchise history.
After neither team scored in the first three rounds of the shootout, Clowe beat Quick with a forehand to the glove side. Niemi ended it when he stopped Brown.
The Kings were playing their second game under new coach Darryl Sutter, who won his Los Angeles debut Thursday night 3-2 in a shootout against Anaheim.
Sutter is very familiar with San Jose, having coached the Sharks for five-plus seasons before being fired in December 2002 by then-general manager Dean Lombardi, now GM of the Kings. Sutter also has plenty of experience on the opposing bench in San Jose, having beaten the Sharks in the Western Conference finals in 2004 when he was coaching Calgary.
The Sharks had most of the chances in a scoreless third period, when neither team was able to break a 1-all tie. Quick made 14 saves in the period, including a tough one early against Couture. The Kings also killed two penalties and escaped a dicey situation with less than 5 minutes to go when Drew Doughty just got his stick on Patrick Marleau's rebound attempt in front of an empty net, deflecting it wide.
The teams traded goals in the second period, with Couture striking first for San Jose and Richards getting the equalizer for Los Angeles on the power play with 1:08 left.
Couture got his 15th goal on a sharp one-timer from the faceoff circle off a feed from Clowe midway through the period. The two combined with Marleau on a strong shift, keeping the puck deep in the Kings' zone with a strong cycle that paid off with Couture's big shot.
San Jose was unable to maintain the lead as its porous penalty-killing unit once again failed in a key spot. The Sharks, who are tied for the second-worst penalty-kill percentage in the NHL, had killed 10 straight penalties before Richards struck for his 13th goal of the season.
Anze Kopitar won control of the puck along the boards with three Sharks in the area. He sent a pass cross-ice to Richards, who was alone in the faceoff circle and beat Niemi with a wrist shot. Richards has scored in back-to-back games after missing the previous eight with a concussion.
The teams combined for only 12 shots — seven by Los Angeles — during a scoreless first period that did include a few good scoring chances for each side.
After a bad line change by San Jose, Brad Richardson was all alone at the side of the net but couldn't get off a clean shot, allowing Niemi to make a pad save.
Benn Ferriero then couldn't get his stick on a pass from Joe Thornton on a 2-on-1 opportunity for San Jose later in the period. The Sharks had two good scoring chances on a late power play, but Quick stopped Joe Pavelski at the side of the net. Justin Braun then missed the net on a big slap shot in the final minute of the period.
Notes: Los Angeles was 4 for 56 over its past 15-plus games on the power play before Richards' goal. ... The Sharks recalled G Antero Niittymaki from his conditioning assignment with Worcester after he underwent hip surgery in September. San Jose will carry three goalies for the time being. Thomas Greiss served as the backup to Niemi against the Kings.
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