Kings pay the penalty in 2-1 loss to Sharks

SAN JOSE — Live by the five-on-three and lose on the five-on-four.

Two days after the Kings took advantage of a two-man advantage to rally from a one-goal deficit in a dizzying comeback against the Sharks in Game 2, they found themselves staring straight at a five-on-three disadvantage here Saturday night.

They escaped the five-on-three but could not survive the five-on-four. The Sharks won it at 1:29 into overtime on Logan Couture’s power-play goal, giving San Jose a 2-1 victory in Game 3 at HP Pavilion. Couture had missed most of the second period with an apparent left leg injury.

BOX SCORE: Sharks 2, Kings 1

The Kings lead the Western Conference semifinal, two games to one, with Game 4 on Tuesday in San Jose.

The loss was emotional for the Kings, who had a six-game winning streak end. There was anger from goalie Jonathan Quick, who earned a game misconduct after Couture’s goal. An NHL official said that Quick earned the penalty for going out of his way to yell at each of the officials.

Some of the Kings thought that Trevor Lewis, who was called for goaltender interference to give San Jose the two-man advantage, was actually pushed into Sharks goalie Antti Niemi.

Others did not want to enter the controversial waters of criticizing officiating.

Kings captain Dustin Brown, who was measured, objected to the timing and the sudden glut of calls.

“They didn’t really call much all game,” said Brown, who had been called for slashing with 5:16 remaining in regulation. “And then they call three [minors].

“Mine was a penalty. I come down on the stick and it breaks.

“But they didn’t call anything and then they call two in the last minute. We’ll move on. This team has dealt with enough. Regardless, we’ll be ready to go.”

With the score tied, 1-1, the Sharks opened overtime with a five-on-three advantage for 1:19. Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr had gone off for hooking the Sharks’ Tommy Wingels with 41.7 seconds remaining in the third period.

With 3.2 seconds left in regulation, Lewis, the hero of Game 2 with the winning goal, was called for interference on Niemi.

“It sucks being in the box, especially when you’re a penalty-killer,” Lewis said. “It’s a tough one. We’ve got to refocus and regroup and that’s why we won the first two.”

Lewis was asked if he thought he was pushed into the goalie and said: “Something happened.”

Until a late surge of activity, the game had precious little momentum and seemed curiously disjointed for both teams.

The second and third periods were scoreless. Quick’s right pad stopped an all-but-certain Sharks goal with a little more than five minutes remaining in the second period, shutting down Sharks forward Andrew Desjardins.

The teams traded first-period goals. San Jose struck first, on the power play at 1:34, needing a mere four seconds into the man advantage.

Kings rookie defenseman Jake Muzzin had shot the puck over the glass and was penalized for delay of game. On the ensuing power play, Patrick Marleau won the draw from the Anze Kopitar, setting the stage for defenseman Dan Boyle, who ripped a blast from the point past Quick.

It was the first time the Sharks have scored first in the series.

The Kings equalized on a Sharks blunder midway through the first period.

Niemi dished the puck to defenseman Brad Stuart, a former King. Stuart promptly turned it over, putting it on the stick of Kings rookie Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli’s goal, a nifty backhander, was unassisted and was his first playoff goal.

Shortly after his miscue, Stuart attempted to make amends and leveled the Kings’ Justin Williams with a hard hit.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

Twitter: @reallisa