Kings' Snap Unbeaten Streak
It wasn't the smoothest shutout for Mike Vernon, but in the end it felt just fine.
Vernon stopped 30 shots as the San Jose Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 Monday night.
"A little scrambling," he said of his performance. "But we managed to hold our ground and chip away at their end and get some goals."
It was Vernon's third shutout this season and 21st of his career. He has eight shutouts with the Sharks, tying him for the franchise record with Arturs Irbe.
|
The loss ended a season-high six-game unbeaten streak for the Kings, who had not lost since Dec. 26 against Phoenix. They were 7-2-1 over their last 10 going into the game.
"That was one of our worst efforts," said Kings coach Larry Robinson. "We deserved to lose 4-0."
Joe Murphy contributed a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who are undefeated in four games and 5-2-3 in their last 10.
While the San Jose fans regularly peppered the Pacific Division arch-rival Kings with shouts of "Beat L.A.," the dislike was apparent on the ice, too.
About seven minutes into the first period, Kings defenseman Sean O'Donnell and Sharks right wing Ron Stern traded punches. Each earned five-minute penalties and Stern was forced to leave with a game misconduct.
Another skirmish broke out with less than five minutes to go: Eric Lacroix tangled with Sharks left wing Alex Korolyuk and earned two minutes for roughing.
The penalty was costly. On the power play, Dave Lowry beat fallen goalie Stephane Fiset to put the Sharks up 3-0 with 3:26 left in the game.
Then just 51 seconds later, Korolyuk got past a screened Fiset for the final margin.
The Sharks went up 1-0 on a power play late in the first period, when defenseman Bill Houlder guided in Murphy's hard shot from the blue line. The puck deflected off Fiset's sate and into the goal.
Murphy got his own goal midway through the second period with a shot that went between Fiset's legs. It was his 11th goal of the season.
Fiset stopped 29 shots.
With the win, the Sharks took a 2-1 advantage in the six-game series against the Kings this season.
"We got outplayed tonight. The last couple of games we've started to slip a little, and it got away from us," Kings defenseman Rob Blake said. "The Sharks were on the puck all night."
San Jose has a five-game undefeated streak at home. The Sharks have not lost at their arena since Dec. 15 against the New York Islanders.
Sharks veteran left wing Tony Granato, who played for the Kings before coming to San Jose, fell to the ice midway through the third period with an apparent knee injury. He skated to the bench, but had to be helped to the locker room.
The team said Granato had a sprained right knee. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Tuesday.
© 1999 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved