The view from San Jose

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

David Pollak: Sharks lose to Kings 1-0

Not that it was much consolation to Stalock, but by keeping the Kings off the scoreboard until Kopitar’s goal at 17:56 of the second period, the Sharks netminder did set a franchise shutout streak at 178:55 that included victories over the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets.

The goal that beat him was a case of a well-intentioned attempt to break up a play contributing to the defeat, as Brent Burns fully extended himself to get a stick on a centering pass from Jeff Carter to Kopitar

David Pollak: Kings’ Dustin Brown understands Sharks’ anger over his hit that injured Tomas Hertl

“All I can say is I made the effort to get out of the way. I think that was pretty evident on the video,” Brown said. “My intention was to hit him at first, and then I realized I wasn’t going to be able to get there in time because he had the puck on his stick for a split second.”

The Sharks did not see the hit that way, and general manager Doug Wilson was later critical of Brown for not expressing concern for Hertl, who ended up undergoing knee surgery and still could miss the remainder of the season.

CSNBAYAREA.COM

Kevin Kurz: Sharks turn it up too late in loss to Kings

San Jose was unable to find the equalizing goal against Jonathan Quick and the Kings, losing 1-0 to their rivals from the south on Monday night at SAP Center. Rather than gain a sizeable lead over Los Angeles for second place in the Pacific Division and extend the Kings’ losing streak to six games, Los Angeles climbed to within eight points of the Sharks and ended San Jose’s six-game run of success.

There were no surprises. No player on either team gave up an opportunity to throw a hit or get in front of a shot. The Sharks had 28 hits to the Kings’ 27, and blocked 24 shots to Los Angeles’ 22.

Kevin Kurz: Stalock breaks Sharks franchise shutout mark

Sharks goalie Alex Stalock broke the franchise record for shutout streak by a goaltender on Monday, surpassing Evgeni Nabokov’s mark.

Stalock, 26, entered the Sharks-Kings game with back-to-back shutout wins over Florida and Winnipeg. He surpassed Nabokov’s record of 171 minutes and 19 seconds shortly after the midway point of the second period against Los Angeles.

Kevin Kurz: Kings’ Brown: NHL needs more players like Sharks’ Hertl

Kings captain Dustin Brown expressed disappointment on Monday that Tomas Hertl could be out for the rest of the season, after Brown’s knee-on-knee hit during a game at Staples Center on Dec. 19.

“You never want to see anybody get hurt. He was pretty exciting coming into the league. We need more players like him that are willing to go through the legs, and go [top] shelf,” Brown said, mentioning Hertl’s highlight-reel goal against the New York Rangers in October. “That’s good for our game. You don’t want to see anybody get hurt. Like I said, it’s one of those things that kind of happens in the game of hockey

SBNATION.COM: FEAR THE FIN

Stalock breaks Sharks’ record in loss to Los Angeles

The Sharks started to even up the shot attempt battle late in the game, but they rarely looked dangerous against a Los Angeles team that was asphyxiating one of the league’s top offenses.

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