Meier scores five goals to lift Sharks past Kings

SAN JOSE --Timo Meier became the first player in San Jose Sharks history to score five goals in a game in a 6-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center on Monday.

Meier is the fifth player in the NHL to score five goals in a game since 2000 and the first since Mika Zibanejad, who did so for the New York Rangers in a 6-5 overtime win against the Washington Capitals on March 5, 2020.
"Honestly, I don't even remember (the last time scoring five goals)," Meier said. "It probably was somewhere in junior in the Swiss League somewhere. It was special.
"It's a pretty cool feeling. But at the same time, you don't want to get too high. We get a day off tomorrow and then it's back to work. It definitely gives you a lot of confidence, but you want to go back and work hard."

Tomas Hertl had four assists, and Erik Karlsson had three assists for the Sharks (21-17-2), who had lost two straight. James Reimer made 39 saves in his first start since Jan. 4.
"It's always nice when you see guys have accomplishments like that," Karlsson said of Meier. "It raises the spirits for the whole team. ... He finds open areas out there and he has been doing that on a consistent level this year, which I think has come with the experience that he's had."
Anze Kopitar and Mikey Anderson scored, and Jonathan Quick made 11 saves for the Kings (20-14-5), who had won four straight.
"It happened very quickly," Kopitar said. "We didn't play terribly, but nowhere near good enough. Sometimes, when you don't play terrible and get away with it, maybe a 2-1 game, 3-1 game, it doesn't look as bad as it does at 6-2."
Meier scored a power-play goal at 3:02 of the first period to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
After Rudolfs Balcers made it 2-0 at 15:56, Meier completed the hat trick with two goals in 21 seconds. He scored with a turnaround shot off a rebound to make it 3-0 at 18:48 before finishing another rebound near the crease at 19:09 to extend the lead to 4-0.

Kopitar made it 4-1 at 19:44 of the first period, but Meier scored his fourth of the game at 1:24 of the second period during a power play to make it 5-1.
Meier then pushed the lead to 6-1 with a snap shot at 19:32.
"I can't remember ever seeing a guy that hot," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. "You put in the good, hard work and you get paid back, and Timo got paid back today. The way he scored, the patience, picking the shot. Those were pretty goals."
Anderson redirected a shot from Drew Doughty at 10:35 of the third period for the 6-2 final.
"Nothing is easy in this game, whether you're fixing or moving forward," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "So no, it's not an easy fix, but it's addressable. We can be better in those areas, for sure."
Los Angeles outshot San Jose 41-17.
"You could probably summarize this game by looking at the game sheet," McLellan said. "You'd look at the shots on goal and go, 'that shouldn't be like that. But it should be, because one team played on the inside, in and around our paint, and we didn't get inside at the other end."
NOTES:Meier has scored 20 goals in 35 games this season. … Karlsson got his 500th NHL assist on Meier's fifth goal, becoming the fastest active defenseman to reach the milestone (820 games played). Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle did so in 1,033 games. … The last player to score six goals in a game was Darryl Sittler for the Toronto Maple Leafs in an 11-4 win against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 7, 1976.