The LA Kings collected their first point of the 2026-27 regular season but came up short in overtime, as they fell 5-4 to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday evening at SAP Center.
The Kings opened the scoring late in the first period with their first power-play goal of the season, courtesy of forward Adrian Kempe. After a good sequence of puck movement in the offensive zone, forward Artemi Panarin picked a seam through the circles, to Kempe on the right side, where the Swede one-timed the pass into the back of the net for an early 1-0 advantage.
After Los Angeles forward Alex Laferriere was assessed a roughing minor at the end of the opening period, San Jose capitalized early in the second to tie the game at one. Forward Macklin Celebrini dished the puck to Ivar Stenberg, crashing into the right-hand circle. Stenberg then slid a pass to forward Tyler Toffoli at the back post, where he tapped in the game-tying goal just 1:48 into the middle stanza.
San Jose scored a pair of even-strength goals, just shy of three minutes apart, to open up its first lead of the game at 3-1.
First, Kings forward Erik Haula attempted a cross-ice pass in his own zone, which was picked off by San Jose forward Kiefer Sherwood in the slot and wired home, past Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg, for the first lead of the evening for the hosts. Then, the Sharks attacked in transition, with forward Michael Misa dropping the puck to defenseman Nolan Allan in the left-hand circle, where he buried his first of the season on a seeing-eye shot for the two-goal lead.
With only 1.3 seconds left on the clock in the middle stanza, forward Quinton Byfield scored the second Los Angeles power-play goal of the game to pull the Kings back within one through 40 minutes of play. Byfield took a feed from forward Mats Zuccarello in the right-hand circle and powered a shot past San Jose goaltender Yaroslav Askarov on the blocker side for his first goal of the season and a 3-2 scoreline.
Early in the third period, San Jose restored its two-goal advantage, as forward Igor Chernyshov scored against the flow of play, putting the Sharks ahead 4-2. After a sustained period of play at the other end, San Jose attacked in transition, with Chernyshov splitting the defensemen, before he beat Forsberg short side with a backhanded shot for his first goal of the season.
The Kings pulled back within a goal once again midway through the third period as Haula responded with a big goal. After he won the faceoff to establish possession in the offensive zone, Haula worked his way to the front of the net and got a deflection on a point shot from defenseman Erik Gustafsson, sending it past Askarov as the visitors moved to within 4-3.
With exactly five minutes remaining regulation, the top line for the Kings finally broke through at even strength, after a dangerous night, to tie the game at four and force overtime. With Kempe pressuring on the forecheck, the Kings forced a turnover deep in the San Jose zone. Byfield collected the puck and fed Panarin for a one-timer, which he buried, top shelf, for his second goal in as many games.
In 3-on-3 overtime, the Kings controlled the bulk of the extra session, but gave up another goal against the run of play to drop the second point. Chernyshov was the goalscorer, on a one timer from a sharp angle the bottom of the left-hand circle, giving San Jose the 5-4 win.
Hear from Kempe, Byfield and Head Coach Peter Laviolette following tonight’s game.
