Game 46: Sharks 2, Kings 1

Had the Kings rolled over and played dead Monday night against the Sharks, I would be worried. Had they given up 6 goals, shot the puck 12 times and just get outplayed, I would be worried. Had they not shown any effort on the ice, I would have be worried.

But I'm not worried. The Kings put in a decent performance against the top team in the Pacific Division. They had plenty of chances, with 34 shots on goal, and outhit the Sharks, 44-25.

Sure Erik Ersberg played, but he played well enough to keep L.A. in the game until the very end. IN fact, he was the No. 2 player of the game.

No, the onus of this loss should be on the offense, or lack of therein, from the Kings. Simply put, they need to net the puck. And that lies with Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov, Ryan Smyth, et al...

Granted, L.A. is still among the top third in the league in goals for average at 2.83. But they needed that extra 1.83 goals against the Sharks Monday night.

Here's another interesting stat: the Kings are tied for third in least shots allowed, behind Chicago (Central leader), New Jersey (Atlantic leader) and Ottawa.

To say the Kings have been sporadic since Christmas would be a huge understatement. A four-game losing streak, followed by a three-game winning streak, followed by another three-game losing streak. Rollercoaster? More like Montezuma's Revenge.

The Kings need to push through this anomaly and start potting goals with more regularity. If they continue this on-again, off-again trend until the Olympic break, then I might be worried.

But I'm not worried.

At least, not right now.

• AP: Nabokov, Sharks grind out 2-1 win over Kings

After briefly leading the Western Conference just a month ago, Los Angeles is back on the fringe of the playoff picture after losing seven games during its worst 10-game stretch of the season.

• LATimes: The closer things get, the shakier Kings look

"Obviously, we wanted to turn that around the other way," said backup goalie Erik Ersberg, who played well in a 34-save effort, "but that's how it is and we've just got to win the next game and we go from there."

• LAKings.com: Kings fall to Sharks

Less than one month ago, the Kings were in first place in the Western Conference. If Detroit, which is in ninth place in the Western Conference, gets at least one point Tuesday against the New York Islanders, the Kings will be out of the top eight.

• NHL.com:  Sharks hand reeling Kings another loss

''They've dominated us so far this year,'' Boyle said after helping the Sharks beat the Kings for the first time in regulation in five tries this season. ''The first two periods, I thought we were in their zone, and we got a lot of shots on net and a lot of traffic. They fought back, but it was a better effort on our part.''

They said it

“Sometimes you go through hell. You’ve just got to keep going and come out the other side. This is where it’s at right now. We’ll get our scoring going and find a win to win some games.” - Terry Murray, on the team’s emotional reaction.

 “Sometimes it comes easy and you find the back of the net every game. It seems, as of late, it has been really tough for us to find that, even if we are getting the chances. We’ve got to try and stay positive. It does not do any good to be negative at this point of the year.” - Dustin Brown, on the one-goal losses, and whether it’s now a psychological thing

Around the Kingdom

• Examiner.com: Hard losses, like death, come in threes for Kings

The big news going into the game was the announcement that Erik Ersberg would get the start in place of Jonathan Quick, who's fastball seemed to be hanging a little to use a baseball analogy.  Ersberg played well registering 34 saves and giving the team a chance to win the game or at the very least steal a point.

•  MayorsManor.com: MayorsManor presents the Frolov 500

Sounds more like a NASCAR race, doesn't it? In fact, we're talking about Alexander Frolov playing in his 500th game for the LA Kings tonight vs. the San Jose Sharks.

•  HockeyBuzz's Matthew Barry: Kings Drop 3rd Straight, 2-1 to Sharks

You’ve heard of the Sports Illustrated Cover jinx? The Kings are victim to the 4th Period Magazine cover jinx. 0-3 following the latest release of the magazine.

• Kings Kool Aid: Note to players making more than $3 million per year: just because you’re playing the system and it’s all about the team and you’re paying attention to the little things DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T TAKE OVER A GAME AND STEAL A FEW

(Ed. note: that's Quisp's title, and he's calling out Anze Kopitar. A decent rant)

• Frozen Royalty: Dean Lombardi: The Time To Make A Big Splash May Be Now

Lombardi said that the loss of veteran right wing Justin Williams for at least three months has opened his eyes and ears a bit more, but does not mean that he will make a short-term move that gets in the way of long-term goals.

Across the aisle, the San Jose viewpoint

• MercuryNews.com: San Jose Sharks eke out win over Los Angeles Kings

One week after the Kings embarrassed the Sharks at HP Pavilion, San Jose eked out a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the Staples Center. One week after the Sharks penalty kill gave up three goals, the Kings went 0-for-5 on the power play.

• SharksPage.com: Sharks hold on for 2-1 win over Los Angeles Kings

When asked about the "rivalry" with the Kings, head coach Todd McLellan downplayed the issue. He noted that it was not a must-win game against a division rival, it was an effort worth 2 points in January. There might be hints of last year's regular season/playoff rivalry with Anaheim.

Peeping the dailies