Game 13: Sharks 2, Kings 1 (shootout)

Four game winning streak? Check. Sharks coming off a six-game road trip? Check. The stage was set for the Kings to skate into the HP Pavilion and steal one away from their division rivals. And in the first period, it looked like they were going to.

The Kings outshot the Sharks in the first, beating them in the corners, and muscling past the defense to put up some quality scoring chances. The Sharks seems to wake up late in the period and answered with a few chances of their own. Each team had two chances with a man-advantage, but were turned away by the goaltenders.

The Kings broke the ice first, when Alexander Frolov scored on a nifty wraparound, dragging Dan Boyle in tow. It was Frolov's fourth game registering a point, and moved him into a tie with the "Flying Finn" Juha Widing for 12th in all-time points as a King. Brown and Doughty got the assists. (Extra credit if you can name Widing's linemates and the name of their line).

But then the Sharks woke up and started peppering Jonny Quick. And it was Patrick Marleau who tied it all up with a wicked slapper.

Then the teams hunkered down for some soild playing in the third. Everyone seemed to be playing smart, especially the Kings. Think they remembered the four power play goals they gave up in Game 2? I have to say, the Kings have really come into their own playing defensive hockey. The Sharks are stil the defending President's Cup team, and their top line of Heatley, Thornton and Clowe is a formidable bunch. But Kopitar, Smyth and Simmonds did an outstanding job keeping them off the board.

And late in the game, it seemed the Sharks were circling, determined to extend the Kings' winless streak in San Jose. But the Kings withstood San Jose's surge, snatched the point and sent it into overtime. It was there that the Kings struck first again, when Michal Handzus scored to give the Kings a one goal lead. Dany Heatley scored to tie it up, and three rounds later his linemate Clowe scored to give San Jose the second point.

The Kings are playing another game tonight against Vancouver, so the boys might be a bit slow. But the Canucks are without top netminder Roberto Luongo to a rib injury, so that will help the Kings' chances of extending their home winning streak to five games. And get this: with a win against the Canucks, the Kings will tie franchise records for wins (9) and points (19) in October, which was set in 1990. Let's do it, Kings. Go get you some...

•AP: Sharks beat Kings 2-1 in shootout

    “When you get to the shootout it’s like a lottery and you saw that today,” Los Angeles forward Arne Kopitar said. “We had our chances to put it away but everybody seemed to be bobbling the puck and couldn’t put it in.”

• San Jose Mercury News: Clowe lifts Sharks in shootout

    Los Angeles dominated the Sharks in the first period Wednesday, and only Nabokov's alert play kept the game scoreless. Twice he made up-close saves on Kings center Anze Kopitar — the NHL's leading scorer going into the game.

• Yahoo: Team report

    The game was even all the way until the end as the deciding goal wasn't scored until the sixth round of the shootout, by Ryan Clowe. The Kings carried the play throughout the first period but couldn't score, and it came back to haunt them a bit when the Sharks picked up the pace in the second and third periods. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick came up big to allow the Kings to earn one point on the road.

• LAKings.com:  Sharks beat Kings 2-1 in shootout

    Michal Handzus scored in the first round of the shootout, and Dany Heatley tied it in the third round. Both goalies stopped everything until the sixth round,when Ryan Clowe scored on a backhand shot and Jarret Stoll got stopped.

They said it

    “Yeah, there was good intensity there. They had a great a greatroad trip, and after six games, coming back they had a lot ofconversation, I’m sure, about the importance of coming out and playinghard, in the right way, in the early part of the game. I think theyshowed their game, in the second period especially. They make a lot ofthings happen with their D jumping up in the play. So we’ll take thepoint here tonight, I guess.” – Terry Murray, on the game having a playoff intensity

    “Those first couple lines there, those are some of the best players in the league. It takes a team effort. All six guys have to playing well in order to shut them down like that. I thought the boys played well. I thought they did a good job.” – Jonny (Don't Call Me Jonathon) Quick, on keeping Thornton's line off the scoreboard

Around the Kingdom

• LAKingsNews.com: Sharks squeak out victory against Kings in shootout

One point is one point…just like zero isn’t any.  One is better than zero in hockey.  We’ll take it.

• The Throne Room: Deja Vu at the Shark Tank

    Curious to me is Terry Murray’s logic, not putting Ryan Smyth or Alexander Frolov out for the shootout. Would’ve seemed like a no-brainer for me, but I guess that’s why I’m not a coach in the NHL. I’m sure the Frolov conspiracy theorists are having fun with that.

• mlive.com: Portage's Scott Parse registers assists in first two games with the Kings

    Pause the dream for a little reality: Parse leads the Manchester Monarchs in scoring this season. It’s his third year playing for Los Angeles’ American Hockey League affiliate and, with his Kings contract set to expire after this season, Saturday night was huge. Really huge.

From across the aisle, the San Jose viewpoint

• Pistol's Tank Talk: Game #13: San Jose 2 - Los Angeles 1 (SO)

    It seemed that the Sharks were constantly getting beat to pucks and outmuscled behind their own net. Their coverage in front of--and in back of--Nabby was lacking, as evidenced by Alexander Frolov's goal and chances that the Kings had throughout the game.

Peeping the dailies