SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini and Alexander Wennberg spearheaded a stirring Sharks comeback, but goalie Yaroslav Askarov struggled to keep the puck out of the net in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
Wennberg scored an even-strength goal at the 4:48 mark of the third period, tying the game 3-3 and capping a Sharks comeback after they trailed by three goals in the second period.
But Askarov was unable to stop Kings’ defenseman Brandt Clarke, whose snap shot from 35 feet gave Los Angeles a 4-3 lead with 6:40 left in regulation time.
The Sharks outshot the Kings 41-14 but lost their fifth straight game of the season on home ice.
The Sharks created several scoring chances to start the second period but trailed 3-0 as both winger Jeff Malott and defenseman Drew Doughty scored even-strength goals, firing wrist shots past the left shoulder of Askarov. Malott’s goal came off a Kings odd-man rush at the 3:21 mark of the second period, and Doughty, with time in the Sharks’ zone, beat a screened Askarov at the 6:43 mark for his first goal of the season.
Celebrini took a short behind the Kings’ net from Smith, came around the left side, and fired a pass between the legs of defenseman Mikey Anderson and past Malott’s right to Smith, who one-timed it past Los Angeles goalie Darcy Kuemper at the 15:33 mark.
Just 1:53 later, Alexander Wennberg, stationed next to the Kings’ net, took a pass from William Eklund and fired a pass across the crease to Philipp Kurashev, who scored his second of the season on a nearly wide-open net to cut Los Angeles’ lead to one.
With their points in the second period, Celebrini extended his point streak to five games and Eklund extended his to four games. Celebrini was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week on Monday for his performances during the Sharks’ four-game road trip, where he had five goals, including the overtime winner against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, and five assists.
In the first period on Tuesday, the Sharks had just killed a tripping penalty to Timothy Liljegren when they fell behind 1-0.
Winger Collin Graf redirected a shot that was put toward the Sharks’ net by Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke. The puck hit the left post before it bounced off Askarov and landed next to the goal line, where Perry pounced on it and scored his third goal of the season at the 10:54 mark.
Askarov was making his third consecutive start Tuesday, as he stopped a combined 54 of 61 in the Sharks’ last two games, a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Friday and a 6-5 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. Askarov entered Tuesday’s game with a 1-3-1 record and a .855 save percentage.
The Sharks were carrying a nine-game losing streak at home into Tuesday. They went 0-5-0 at home to end last season and were 0-2-2 at the Shark Tank so far this season. They and the Kings were the only two teams left in the NHL not to win a game in their home arenas.