Kings lose late lead and are defeated by Sharks
William Eklund scored 3:08 into overtime, Macklin Celebrini had the tying goal and two assists to extend his point streak to 12 games, and the San Jose Sharks beat the Kings 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Celebrini tied the score at 3 with 1:07 left in regulation. He got past Warren Foegele and sent a wrist shot through traffic that beat goalie Darcy Kuemper between the legs for his 24th goal this season. The 19-year-old center has nine goals and 15 assists during his point streak.
Celebrini is tied for the third-longest point streak by a teenager in NHL history – joining Joe Sakic in 1988-89, Jimmy Carson in 1987-88 and Wayne Gretzky in 1979-80 – and the third-longest point streak in Sharks history.
Tyler Toffoli and Adam Gaudette each scored a goal, Yaroslav Askarov made 23 saves and the Sharks won for the fifth time in six games.
Alex Turcotte and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who still haven’t won three games in a row since winning four in a row in mid-November. Alex Laferrière also scored and Kuemper made 24 saves.
Laferrière gave the Kings the lead with 2:10 left in the third period, but they couldn’t prevent another sensational play from the electric Celebrini.
The Kings were without four forwards, including center and team captain Anze Kopitar, who suffered a lower-body injury in a win over Minnesota on Monday. These absences led the Kings to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Sharks center Ty Dellandrea is out for the week after suffering a lower-body injury against Columbus on Tuesday.
