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Sharks own road, Kings

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Times Staff Writer

Buyer’s remorse is an idiom heard quite frequently these days, just not in reference to the San Jose Sharks. Same for road weary, underdog and cold spell.

As for Kings fans, those descriptions continue to be part of their everyday vocabulary.

The Sharks won for the 12th time in 13 games Tuesday night, beating the Kings, 2-1, at Staples Center. They also extended their league-leading road winning streak to nine games.

San Jose hasn’t lost in regulation since acquiring high-scoring defenseman Brian Campbell and backup goalie Brian Boucher at the Feb. 26 trade deadline.

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Even more satisfying, the Sharks extended their Pacific Division lead over the Ducks to five points and pulled to within five points of Western Conference leader Detroit.

“Just keep winning,” said San Jose center Joe Thornton, who scored his team’s first goal.

San Jose even provided a night off for standout goalie Evgeni Nabokov and barely skipped a beat against the league’s worst team. Nabokov leads the league in victories (41) and is second in goals-against average (2.13), but Boucher carried the torch, stopping 29 shots in his second appearance for the Sharks.

Boucher, 31, shut out St. Louis in his last outing March 1, becoming the first San Jose goalie to earn a shutout victory in his debut.

Boucher helped kill four power plays against the Kings but missed his second straight shutout when defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky scored on a slap shot with just under five minutes left.

“The first two have gone just as good as you can expect,” Boucher said.

While the Sharks have shined since the trade deadline, the off-season acquisitions for the Kings continue to struggle.

Michal Handzus doesn’t have a point in the last 10 games and hasn’t scored a goal since Dec. 17. Kyle Calder hasn’t scored a point in the last seven games he has played and his ice time has dipped into single digits over the last five. Ladislav Nagy has been out two months with a neck injury.

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Even the most productive Kings have seen their numbers stall in recent games.

Anze Kopitar, who leads the team in goals (29) and points (69), has gone three straight games without a point, matching his longest scoreless streak this season. Michael Cammalleri, fifth on the team in goals and points, matched his longest scoreless streak this season at four games, and Alexander Frolov, third in goals and second in points, hasn’t produced a point in four of the last five.

“We had good chances,” said Kings forward Dustin Brown. “We should have played well tonight, especially on the power play.”

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dan.arritt@latimes.com

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