Kopitar has three points to lift Kings past Sharks

SAN JOSE -- Coach John Stevens has been pushing the Los Angeles Kings to become a more aggressive, attacking team in the offensive end this season.
They took a big step in that direction in a 4-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

WATCH: [All Kings vs. Sharks highlights]
Anze Kopitar scored two goals and had an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 24 saves for Los Angeles, which outshot San Jose 17-6 in the first period and took control of the game.
Dustin Brown and Nicholas Shore scored for the Kings (2-0-0).
"We're just trying to get up the ice quicker," Brown said. "My goal was the result of just transitioning from a turnover deep in our zone and getting up the ice and just attacking the net. We had a lot of Grade A scoring chances. I think it was a big difference from what we would consider our [38]-shot totals last year. Like, the type of chances we're getting."
Mikkel Boedker scored for the Sharks (0-2-0), who lost 5-3 at home to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
"That was just horrible," forward Logan Couture said. "You can't make excuses because that was a very, very poor effort from the first minute to the 60th minute, from the power play to the penalty kill. It was just garbage hockey from us."

San Jose goaltender Martin Jones gave up four goals on 29 shots and was replaced by Aaron Dell at 14:05 of the second period with Los Angeles leading 4-1. Dell made nine saves.
The Kings built a 2-1 lead in the first period.
Brown banked the puck off Jones' left shoulder and inside the post at 5:08 to put Los Angeles ahead 1-0.
The Sharks responded quickly, tying it 1-1 at 6:14 when Boedker deflected Brenden Dillon's point shot past Quick for his first goal.
Kopitar scored on a snap shot from the high slot to put the Kings up 2-1 with eight seconds left after a turnover by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.
"I knew there was not a lot of time left and I saw a little opening," Kopitar said. "I figured I'd shoot it and see what happens."

Kopitar scored again at 12:07 of the second period to make it 3-1.
Shore was credited with the goal that made it 4-1 when San Jose forward Melker Karlsson knocked the puck into his own goal at 14:05 of the second while trying to clear it from the crease. Jones couldn't control the puck after a long wrist shot from Trevor Lewis, and the Sharks couldn't get it out of their zone.
"This is a hard league," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "You have to pay a price to win games, and we haven't done that enough. We really weren't in the game. There were stretches we kidded ourselves we were in the game, but we really weren't."

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Goal of the game

Kopitar gave the Kings a two-goal lead when his sharp-angled shot from near the left boards deflected off Dillon's stick and past Jones. "The second goal was one of the luckier bounces I've had," Kopitar said.

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Save of the game

The Sharks trailed 2-1 but had a great chance to pull even with 11:42 left in the second period on Joonas Donskoi's wrist shot from in close, but Quick made the save and smothered the puck. The Kings scored two more goals in the period to put the game away.

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Highlight of the game

Brown took a pass from Kopitar on the rush and beat Jones from the right face-off circle for the game's first goal. It was his 18th goal in 73 career games against San Jose.

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They said it

"That was important that we got off to a good start in this building. You get behind in this building and it's an uphill battle. San Jose, we knew they'd be ready, because they lost the first game at home and had a couple days to prepare. I was really pleased with the effort of the guys coming in and making sure we were ready to go. I thought we created a lot and didn't give up much. That was a scenario for a good start." -- Kings coach John Stevens
"I respect that everyone is coming to the rink ready to play, but we're missing something. Just mentally we know we've got another level." -- Sharks captain Joe Pavelski

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Need to know

Burns, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, had four giveaways, no points and a minus-4 rating. ... The Kings went 0-for-6 on the power play, and the Sharks were 0-for-4. ... Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli each had five shots on goal to lead the Kings. Timo Meier's five led the Sharks.

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What's next

Kings: Host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, SNW, NHL.TV)
Sharks: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, MSG-B, NHL.TV)