SAN JOSE — Forward Philipp Kurashev scored on his shootout attempt, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov didn’t allow a goal at the other end as the Sharks earned a raucous 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at SAP Center.
After the Kings scored late in the third period to tie the game 3-3, and following a scoreless overtime, Kurashev beat Kings goalie Anton Forsberg with a wrist shot for the Sharks’ only goal of the shootout. But Askarov stopped shots by Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe before Corey Perry’s attempt went wide, helping to give the Sharks their sixth win in their last eight games.
Adam Gaudette and Ty Dellandrea also scored, Collin Graf had two assists, and Askarov made 31 saves through three periods and overtime in another solid performance.
With the victory, the Sharks, at 10-8-3, already have half of the wins they had through 82 games last season (20-50-12).
“I haven’t seen this team have any mental weakness,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We’re excited to come to the rink every day. They take the coaching, the constructive criticism, and they want to get better, individually and collectively. There’s a real care to win, which we haven’t had in a long time. And you can see it.”
The Sharks could have sagged after allowing a game-tying goal to Kempe with 58.3 seconds left in regulation time. But they were probably the better team in overtime, and once the shootout began, they might have felt some peace with the way Askarov has been playing of late.
This month, after Thursday, Askarov is 6-1-0 with a .957 save percentage with one of the NHL’s best marks in goals saved above expected. Askarov also had 24 saves in the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime win over the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.
After Thursday’s shootout, Askarov pumped his fist before his Sharks teammates swarmed him.
“Awesome, unbelievable, clutch,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said of Askarov. “He wants the big moments. He wants a lot of saves. He could be the first star every night, it seems. He’s been playing great, winning us games, keeping us in games. We’ve got to tighten it up a bit and not rely on him.”
Anze Kopitar, in his last regular-season game in San Jose after a 20-year NHL career, scored on a breakaway on Askarov 1:47 into the second period to tie the game 2-2.
Kurashev, though, scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period.
Setting up near the slot, Kurashev created some space for himself, took a pass from Will Smith, and beat Kings goalie Anton Forsberg five-hole for his sixth goal of the season.
At the 11:46 mark of the second period, a Joel Armia goal was taken off the board, as, after a Sharks challenge, it was determined Kings forward Kevin Fiala had preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
Macklin Celebrini recorded his third career NHL hat trick in the Sharks’ win over Utah. Still, the Sharks did not like how they played, especially 5-on-5, as their lack of connectivity defensively allowed the Mammoth to create almost twice as many high-danger chances as they did, per Natural Stat Trick.
Thursday, the Sharks’ recently formed third line of Graf, Gaudette, and Dellandrea helped give the Sharks a 2-1 lead after the first period.
Gaudette scored his fourth of the season at the 2:33 mark off assists from Dellandrea and Graf.
Then, after Joel Armia scored a shorthanded goal off a Celebrini turnover at the 16:04 mark, Dellandrea gave the Sharks back the lead as a Graf pass to the front of the net went off his skate and past Forsberg for his second of the season.