Jake Walman scored one goal and had two assists to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 4-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, marking their second consecutive win.
Walman achieved three points for the second game in a row. Other goal scorers for the Sharks included Fabian Zetterlund, Tyler Toffoli, and William Eklund, while Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves. The Sharks had started the season with a record of 0-7-2 before winning two nights in a row.
For the Kings, Akil Thomas and Alex Laferriere scored, and David Rittich made 17 saves. The Kings had previously won two games in a row and four out of their last five.
The first period was slow, with both teams combining for only two goals in the first 46:25. However, they scored three goals in just 4:37 during the third period.
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 6:25. Walman began the play by passing the puck from his zone to Alexander Wennberg, who then quickly passed it to Zetterlund. Zetterlund skated into the zone and scored with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
The Kings quickly tied the game at 2-2 at 8:52. Warren Foegele won the puck in the Sharks’ zone and made a clever backhand pass to Laferriere, who scored as he moved toward the net.
San Jose regained the lead at 3-2 at 11:02 when Walman intercepted a clearing attempt just inside the Kings’ blue line. He then set up Toffoli, who scored from close range.
Eklund secured the win for the Sharks with an empty-net goal with just 38 seconds remaining.
The Sharks were the first to score after Carl Grundstrom won a faceoff in the Kings’ zone. Nico Sturm passed the puck back to Walman at the left point. Walman moved into the middle and took a slap shot that went past Rittich, giving the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 2:20 of the second period.
The Kings quickly responded when defenseman Brandt Clarke took a slap shot from above the right circle. The puck hit Vanecek in the chest and then bounced over him, landing in the crease.
Thomas, who had not played in the first nine games of the season, was in the right spot to push the puck across the goal line and tie the game at 1-1 at 3:18.
