Logan Couture and Fabian Zetterlund both scored in the shootout as the San Jose Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Monday in a game that saw Mario Ferraro leave with a lower-body injury.
Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen made 43 saves in regulation time and overtime and denied both of the Kings’ shootout attempts as the Sharks won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 5 and 7, when they beat the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings.
Kahkonen’s last win was that victory at Little Caesars Arena six weeks ago.
“Just a real gutsy win coming in here and playing the way we did,” said Sharks coach David Quinn, whose team was outshot 46-30. “Get off to a little bit of a tough start, thought we had a great second period. … Just a gutsy, gutsy win.”
Justin Bailey scored a go-ahead goal at the 6:17 mark of the third period, taking a pass from Ryan Carpenter and beating Kings goalie David Rittich on a partial breakaway for his third goal of the season to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead.
Los Angeles got that goal back with 1:58 left in regulation time, as Drew Doughty scored on the power play after Kahkonen was assessed a delay of game penalty for clearing the puck over the glass inside the Sharks’ zone.
Kahkonen recovered to make five saves in overtime and stop the shootout attempts by Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore.
Quinn decried some of the Sharks’ lack of structure in the first period, but it led to some entertaining hockey.
“Actually, one of the funnest games this year I think,” Zetterlund told NBC Sports California after the game. “Chances from either team and when the offensive game is there, it’s just fun to play.”
Zetterlund and William Eklund scored in the second period for the Sharks, who beat the Anaheim Ducks on 5-3 on Saturday in Couture’s season debut after he missed the first 45 games with a groin-area injury.
Zetterlund’s goal was his 14th of the season, tying him with Tomas Hertl for the team lead. Eklund’s goal was his first in 18 games, with his last one coming on Dec. 12 against the Winnipeg Jets.
Eklund was on a line with Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin, dropping down from the first line with Tomas Hertl.
“I felt good,” Eklund said. “I think our line did a great job out there, created a lot of chances. Trying to create those chances and be good defensively, it went better and better.”
Ferraro left Monday’s game in the second period with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. Quinn didn’t have a specific update after the game but said he expected the defenseman to be “out, I think, for a couple games.”
Without Ferraro, four of the five remaining defensemen — Henry Thrun (25:41), Jan Rutta (25:24), Kyle Burroughs (22:47), and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (20:40) — taking on a bigger workload. Nikita Okhotiuk played just 11:52 and did not have a shift after the first half of the third period.
Ferraro was chasing after a loose puck in the offensive zone to the left of the Kings net when it appeared that veteran Los Angeles forward Trevor Lewis made contact with him from behind. The two players’ skates then appeared to get tangled up, sending Ferraro awkwardly into the boards.
Ferraro remained on the ice for a few moments before he was able to get up and make his way toward the Sharks’ bench. He was helped off the ice by teammates, then hobbled as he walked gingerly back toward the team’s dressing room at Crypto.com Arena.
Ferraro came out on the ice and skated briefly near the end of the second intermission to test out the injury, but quickly retreated back to San Jose’s dressing room. The Sharks then officially ruled him out for the remainder of the game after the start of the third period.
The play happened with just over 13 minutes left in the second period with the Sharks leading 2-0 at the time on goals by Zetterlund and Eklund. The Kings later cut the lead in half on a goal by Trevor Moore with 2:54 left before the second intermission.
Ferraro leads all Sharks skaters in average time on ice (22:56) and hasn’t missed a game this season, despite entering Monday second in the NHL with 135 blocks. He also leads all Sharks defensemen with 14 points, including 13 assists.
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The Sharks return home after Monday’s game and will host the New York Rangers on Tuesday. San Jose then has three days between games before it hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
The Sharks are already without three other injured defensemen right now in Matt Benning, Jacob MacDonald, and Ty Emberson. Benning is out for the season after he had hip surgery in December, and MacDonald and Emberson are both considered week-to-week with their respective maladies.
Kahkonen, who was 0-7-1 with a .902 save percentage in his last nine games before Monday, finished the first period with 18 saves, including five in the final 36 seconds as the Kings poured on the pressure.
The 18 saves were the most faced by a Sharks goalie in the first period this season, as the last time it took place was on March 14, 2023, when Kahkonen started against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Kakhonen entered Monday with a 5-13-1 record and a .899 save percentage.
Among the 38 NHL goalies who played in at least 20 games before Monday, Kahkonen, per moneypuck.com, ranked 16th with a goals saved above expected mark of 3.9, and 13th in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (.220).
Kahkonen, 27, is a pending unrestricted free agent.
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