Sharks 2023-24 Game 47 Recap: Sharks 4, Kings 3 (SO) (1/22/24)

 Sharks get a huge win in the skills competition in LA over the rival Kings 4-3 and remain undefeated with Logan Couture in their lineup this season. 

The Sharks found the back of the net first in the second period, with Fabian Zetterlund scoring his 14th goal of the season from Mike Hoffman and Tomas Hertl followed by William Eklund’s eighth goal of the season and first goal in 18 games from Nico Sturm and Jan Rutta. Team Teal took a 2-0 lead at this point late in the second, but they took their feet off the accelerator for a bit before Trevor Moore scored to put the Kings on the board before the end of the second period. In addition, Mario Ferraro crashed awkwardly into the boards in the second period and was in a ton of pain and discomfort. Ferraro headed straight for the Sharks’ bench right after the collision, skated out with the team before the start of the third, and headed back to the dressing room, unable to return. 

The Kings evened it up at two about a minute and a half into the third period via Quinton Byfield. San Jose went back ahead by one about five minutes later on Justin Bailey's third goal of the season, with the lone assist going to Ryan Carpenter. With just under two minutes remaining in regulation, an errant shot of the puck by Kaapo Kahkonen over the glass and into the crowd resulted in a delay-of-game penalty against him that set up Drew Doughty to score the game-tying goal for Los Angeles to force bonus hockey. This game eventually got to a shootout, in which Logan Couture and Fabian Zetterlund scored to give the Sharks their second straight victory over their So Cal rivals (Kings and Ducks specifically). 

Kaapo Kahkonen had a great performance in net and was a primary reason for the Sharks' big win over the Kings tonight, recording 44 saves on 47 shots against. 

There may have been moments in this game where the Sharks slipped up a bit and let the kings have some momentum, but Team Teal never trailed, played well, and made up for their mistakes. Although the injury to Mario Ferraro may be somewhat concerning, Kaapo Kahkonen and the Sharks' offense stepped up big time when they needed to. The Sharks are looking to continue their positive momentum when they travel home to host the New York Rangers tomorrow night at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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