Tomas Hertl scored at the 1:13 mark of overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.
Hertl took possession of the puck in the Kings’ zone and his wraparound attempt got past goalie Jonathan Quick as he snapped a 12-game goal drought and ended the Sharks’ three-game losing streak
Erik Karlsson, in his first game since Jan. 20, assisted on a power play goal by Brent Burns and an even strength marker by Alexander Barabanov. Nick Bonino also scored a power play goal and goalie Zach Sawchenko overcame a shaky few seconds in the first period to finish with 33 saves.
Karlsson made an immediate offensive impact as he assisted on Burns’ power play goal at the 2:39 mark of the first period.
Karlsson, stationed on the half wall, took a pass from Logan Couture and backhanded a pass to Burns, who one-timed it past Quick for his sixth goal of the season.
Karlsson was a full participant in Sharks practices on Tuesday and Wednesday and was officially activated from injured reserve on Thursday afternoon. Karlsson, who had forearm surgery, missed 15 games in total from Jan. 22 to Sunday, and the Sharks went 3-7-5 in his absence and were outscored 54 to 30 along the way.
“It’s a frustrating process, but it’s one of those things that, unfortunately, most professional athletes have to go through,” Karlsson said of his injury, “That’s just the way it is. The longer you’re around, the more obstacles are going to get thrown your way. It’s just one of those things that you have to deal with.”
The Kings entered Thursday on a three-game winning streak as they had gone 8-3-0 since the NHL all-star break to move into second place in the Pacific Division.
Los Angeles struck for two goals in an eight-second span in the first period, as Sawchenko’s glove hand let him down a couple of times.
Sawchenko, making his second consecutive start, couldn’t handle a 30-foot shot from Andreas Athanasiou and the loose puck went to Trevor Moore. He passed it over to Phillip Danault who tapped it in for his 17th goal of the season with Sawchenko out of the net at the 5:58 mark of the first period.
Athanasiou then scored at the 6:06 mark of the first, snapping a shot past Sawchenko’s glove hand.
Sawchenko recovered from the two-goal outburst, finishing the first period with 14 saves. He also stopped nine of 10 shots in the second period, with Moore scoring shorthanded at the 10:40 mark for a 3-1 Kings lead.
