Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Sharks grind out win, make life difficult for Kings

eI_WHTpR095e
Joe Pavelski delivered the game-winner for the Sharks as they beat the Kings on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

If the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings meet again, it will be in the playoffs. If they do so, the Sharks will hold quite a bit of a recent edge.

They defeated them in the first round of the 2016 playoffs and won the 2016-17 season series with the Kings after beating L.A. in a tight 3-2 affair on Wednesday.

During a week where leads have been flimsy and goals came in flurries, this one started off pretty hot. The Sharks generated a 2-1 lead in the first period, and then the two teams exchanged goals in the second, with Joe Pavelski’s goal ultimately standing as the game-winner.

The Sharks won after a scoreless third period, keeping them in a position to take back first place in the Pacific Division:

1. Ducks - 59 points in 47 games
2. Oilers - 57 in 47
3. Sharks - 56 in 45

San Jose has an opportunity to make up that ground with its games in hand. The Kings, on the other hand, see their margin of error for a wild card spot dwindling:

Second wild card spot: Kings, 48 points in 45 games

Canucks - 48 in 46
Predators - 47 in 44
Stars - 46 in 46
Jets - 46 in 48

The Sharks made life easier for themselves while making it tougher for the Kings. If that’s the end of their interactions for 2016-17, Sharks fans should be quite happy.