The LA Kings dropped their Rookie Faceoff opener by an 8-1 margin on Saturday evening against the San Jose Sharks.
San Jose jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, as forward Filip Bystedt scored on a deflection to open the scoring 4:09 into the game. Defenseman Jake Boltmann walked the blueline and as he got to the center point, he put a shot towards the net, with Bystedt getting a tip on the way, sending it past Kings goaltender Carter George for the first Sharks goal of the tournament.
Later in the opening frame, the Sharks scored twice in a span of 44 seconds to open up a three-goal lead.
First, forward Carson Wetsch gave the Sharks another deflected goal as his shot from the slot looked like it hit a Kings stick, went the other way and in. Then, San Jose connected on a 2-on-1 rush to take the 3-0 advantage. Wetsch played the role of facilitator, as he fed forward Andre Gasseau, who buried past George on the blocker side for his first of the Rookie Faceoff.
The Kings got on the board 13:47 into the game, with forward Vojtech Cihar burying the first Kings goal of the tournament. Forward Jared Wright used his speed to carry the puck from end-to-end, gaining the offensive zone with possession. Eventually, defenseman Jared Woolley found the puck down low and fed Cihar at the back post for the goal, to bring the Kings within 3-1.
The Sharks capped off a high-scoring period with a shorthanded goal, coming with four seconds remaining on a Kings power play. San Jose first attacked 2-on-1 but Kings blueliner Adam Goljer made a nice defensive play to break it up. The hosts sustained the pressure though and the Kings lost Gasseau at the back post, where he buried his second of the game for the 4-1 lead through 20 minutes.
The only goal in the second period was a power-play tally from the Sharks, as the hosts opened up a four-goal lead. With just one second remaining on a Kaleb Lawrence minor penalty, Wetsch collected his fourth point of the evening as he deflected a point shot by Mack Oliphant into the back of the net for a 5-1 lead through 40 minutes of play.
Sharks forward Ivar Stenberg scored on back-to-back shifts in the third period as the Sharks blew the game wide open at 7-1. First, Stenberg got the last touch on a deflecting, bouncing puck through the slot to make it 6-1. Shortly after, he finished off a nice pass from forward Igor Chernychov at the back post on a play that featured some NHL-level passing to give the hosts a six-goal lead. The Sharks added a late goal to bring the game to the 8-1 final.
Hear from Cihar, forward Grant Slukynsky and Head Coach Andrew Lord following tonight's defeat.
The Kings are back in action tomorrow afternoon
