Kings score six, defeat Sharks to split two-game set, end slide

LOS ANGELES -- Drew Doughty had three assists for the Los Angeles Kings in their first win in six games, 6-2 against the San Jose Sharks at Staples Center on Thursday.

Anze Kopitar, Carl Grundstrom and Jaret Anderson-Dolan each had a goal and an assist for the Kings (4-6-3), who lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Sharks on Tuesday. Cal Petersen made 29 saves.
"We're so accustomed to playing one-goal games that you don't get the freedom to play out a lot of nights, but we earned the opportunity to do it tonight," Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. "We didn't get cute, we didn't get lazy, we didn't get sloppy. We played the right way, so that was rewarding for the group as a whole."
Tomas Hertl scored twice for the Sharks (5-6-1), who were playing the last of a 12-game road trip to start the season because of COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County, California.
"Tonight just wasn't good enough, and that didn't have anything to do with being on the road," San Jose captain Logan Couture said.

Martin Jones allowed six goals on 26 shots before being replaced in the third period by Alexei Melnichuk, who made five saves in his NHL debut.
Kopitar put the Kings ahead 1-0 2:47 into the game when he scored on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle on the power play.
Grundstrom made it 2-0 at 9:25 when he redirected Anderson-Dolan's shot.
Austin Wagner scored on a breakaway after coming out of the penalty box to make it 3-0 at 12:42. Tobias Bjornfot, in his Los Angeles season debut, made a stretch pass to Wagner for his first NHL point in his fourth game.
"That was important, even that first shift," Doughty said of the first period. "The coaches put a lot of attention on that first shift because we gave one up on the first shift last game, so we wanted to have a good start. And after we did have that first good shift, the lines just kept rolling and rolling over, and we kept them hemmed in their own zone a few times and got a three-goal lead, I believe, in the first, so it was all good."
Hertl cut it to 3-1 at 16:25 of the first with a sharp-angled shot after his initial attempt was blocked by defenseman Austin Strand.
Hertl scored on the power play to get the Sharks within 3-2 at 17:49 of the second period. He backhanded in the rebound after Petersen made the save on Couture's initial shot on the rush.
Anderson-Dolan scored for the second straight game to give the Kings a 4-2 lead at 4:51 of the third period.
Alex Iafallo made it 5-2 with a power-play goal at 5:58. San Jose challenged for goaltender interference, but video review determined that Sharks defenseman Brent Burns caused Kings forward Dustin Brown to contact Jones.

Burns was called for high sticking, and San Jose was assessed a minor penalty for delay of game for the unsuccessful challenge.
Jeff Carter scored on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play at 6:56 to make it 6-2.
"We've blown a lot of third-period leads this year," Doughty said. "If you want to be a good team in the NHL, you have to learn how to seal the deal when you have the lead and finish the game off."
Jones, making his third straight start, was pulled after Carter's goal. Sharks coach Bob Boughner indicated that Jones might have been removed earlier if Devan Dubnyk was the backup.
"That's not up to our standard, that goaltending," Boughner said. "We gave him a chance to grab the net, especially with [Dubnyk] being hurt. We're not expecting him to win hockey games for us standing on his head. But we've got to have solid goaltending, especially at the beginning of games. It's just not up to our standard, and I'm sure it's not up to his own."
Dubnyk is day to day because of a lower-body injury, the Sharks said earlier Thursday.