What we learned from the Kings’ 4-1 win over the Sharks
Kings goalie Jhonas Enroth blocks a shot by Sharks center Tomas Hertl in the third period Thursday night in San Jose.
What we learned from the Kings’ 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks:
Three straight losses and now three consecutive wins. The Kings rebounded from what they called an “embarrassing” performance in their season opening loss to the Sharks on Oct. 7.
It is possible to have a statement game in October
This was the Kings’ first opportunity to answer that season-opening clunker against a divisional opponent.
“That was the most important thing about today’s game was the response from the 5-1 loss we had in the opening game,” left wing Milan Lucic said. “Our mind set was in the right place and taking a step forward from the last two wins.”
Said Tyler Toffoli: “It was huge. We came here to send a message saying that’s not going to happen all year.”
Jhonas Enroth passes first test
He hadn’t played a regular-season game since April 11, when he was with the Dallas Stars. And Kings backup goalie Jhonas Enroth’s last game action was in the preseason since starter Jonathan Quick played the first five games of the regular season.
Enroth won his first start, making 39 saves overall, and looked sharp as he faced a flurry of early intense action.
“I thought he was really good, the first period especially,” Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. “They threw a lot of pucks at us. He did a really, really good job too, killing penalties, making some big saves.”
Production coming from sources not named Tyler Toffoli
Toffoli had three of the Kings’ six goals in their first five games. He scored against the Sharks but this time there was scoring help from his linemates, center Jeff Carter and Lucic. Carter tied a career high with four points, scoring his first two goals of the season and adding two assists. Lucic picked up his first goal as a Kings, deflecting defenseman Christian Ehrhoff’s shot, on the power play.
Carter, of course, has a habit of scoring goals in bunches.
“Yeah, I knew they were going to come eventually,” he said. “I was getting my looks. Hopefully, they keep coming.”
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