Kings’ long trip ends with a shootout loss to Sharks

SAN JOSE — Adrian Kempe delivered some late magic in regulation, allowing the Kings to salvage a point in the final stop of a successful six-game road trip.

Philipp Kurashev scored the only goal of a shootout, and the San Jose Sharks held on for a 4-3 win on Thursday night.

San Jose’s first player in the shootout, Kurashev skated toward his left then shifted direction toward the net before flipping the puck over the left shoulder of Kings goalie Anton Forsberg. Kurashev also had a goal in the second period.

Joel Armia, Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe scored goals for the Kings and Anton Forsberg made 21 saves, as they lost their second consecutive game but finished 4-2-0 on the trip. Kempe sent the game into OT on a goal with 58.3 seconds remaining.

The Kings pulled Forsberg for a late 6-on-5 advantage and Kempe tied the score when he cleaned up a loose puck in front of the Sharks’ goal following a shot from Kevin Fiala.

Ty Dellandrea had a goal and an assist for San Jose, which earned a point for the ninth time in its past 11 games. Adam Gaudette scored a goal, while Collin Graf had two assists. Yaroslav Askarov made 31 saves, two during the shootout.

Teen sensation Macklin Celebrini had an assist as the Sharks avenged a 4-3 loss in Los Angeles on Oct. 28 and picked up their 10th victory in 21 games after not reaching double-digit wins until their 28th game last season.

Gaudette got the Sharks going with a goal on San Jose’s first shot of the game 2:33 into the first period. Gaudette raced in from the blue line following a Kings turnover and took a pass from Dellandrea then fired a wrist shot into the lower left corner of the net.

Armia tied the score with a short-handed goal at 16:04 of the first period when he forced a turnover and scored on a breakaway stick side past Askarov.

Dellandrea gave San Jose a 2-1 lead with 9.9 seconds left in the first period when he deflected a centering pass from Graf off his skate blade and into the goal.

The Kings responded quickly and pulled even at 2-2 hen Kopitar scored 1:47 into the second period on a backhand between the legs of Askarov. Trevor Moore and Cody Ceci had assists.

The Kings had a goal nullified by an offside penalty midway through the second period, then San Jose went back on top, 3-2, with 2:56 remaining in the frame when Kurashev took a feed from Will Smith at the edge of the left circle and used the Kings’ Andrei Kuzmenko as a screen to score past Forsberg.

UP NEXT

The Kings host the Boston Bruins on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

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