SAN JOSE — Los Angeles Kings forward Alex Iafallo got open behind the San Jose Sharks defense and was one-on-one with goalie Martin Jones early in the third period of a tie game.
Jones turned aside the point-blank try from Iafallo to keep the Sharks from falling behind. Just a few minutes later, Ryan Donato’s wrapround shot went off a skate in front of the Kings net and past Jonathan Quick for a one-goal Sharks lead.
It was the type of sequence the Sharks desperately needed after they experienced their most difficult stretch of the season last week.
Donato and Logan Couture both scored and Jones finished with 41 saves as the Sharks beat the Kings 2-1 on Monday at SAP Center to snap a four-game losing streak.
“We maybe brought our B-game. But we found a way to win,” Couture said. “On this homestand, we’ve been finding a way to lose.”
Five of Jones’ saves came on the penalty kill as the Sharks killed all five minor penalties they took Monday, including three in the first period.
Jones made a handful of saves in the final two minutes to preserve the win, the Sharks’ first since March 13 against the Anaheim Ducks.
“For me, it’s getting the save you need at the right time of the game,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said of Jones, “and he did that.”
Jones stopped the first 26 shots he faced Monday before the Kings tied the game 1-1 at the 17:31 mark of the second period. The Kings won a faceoff deep in the Sharks zone and the puck came to Matt Roy, whose slap shot grazed off defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic before it got past Jones.
Couture’s goal came at the 8:22 mark of the first period, as his shot from along the boards just outside the faceoff circle was saved by Quick, but the rebound went off Kurtis MacDermid and into the Kings net for a 1-0 Sharks lead. Couture had come into Monday on a six-game goal drought.
Jones made 14 saves in the first period, including three on the penalty kill as the Sharks served three minor penalties.
Jones had been playing his best hockey of the season this month. Coming into Monday, Jones had a 2-1-1 record in four starts with a .923 save percentage and 2.47 goals-against average.
“I’ve felt really good the last few games,” Jones said. “I’m just trying to focus on playing just try not to think too much.”
The last time Jones played the Kings, he was torched for six goals against in just under 51 minutes of play in a 6-2 Sharks loss on Feb. 11. After the game, Boughner was pointed in his criticism of the goaltending, as Jones had a 5-3-0 record but a .865 save percentage, which, at that point, ranked 44th out of 46 NHL goalies who had played at least five games.
Since the Feb. 11 game, Jones has had his share of hiccups but has been better overall. In his last 10 games, Jones has a 4-3-2 record, a .921 save percentage and 2.66 goals-against average.
With the playoffs likely out of reach and the NHL trade deadline three weeks away, the Sharks tried to focus on the here and now as they started another busy week.
The Sharks went 0-3-1 last week, losing twice to both Vegas and St. Louis, and entered Monday 11 points back of the Blues for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. Saturday, the Sharks were called for a rare faceoff violation as Patrick Marleau was sent to the penalty box to serve the two-minute minor, a call that left Boughner and other Sharks players fuming.
The Blues scored on the ensuing power play and added two more goals in a 5-2 win.
If some results had been different last week, and the Sharks were able to hold onto third-period leads against the Golden Knights on Wednesday and the Blues on Friday, they’d be that much closer to a possible postseason berth and the outlook wouldn’t be so bleak.
As it is, the Sharks were trying to put last week in the rearview mirror and concentrate on what they could control. The Sharks play the Kings again Wednesday and face the Arizona Coyotes on the road Friday and Saturday.
“When frustration sets in, you get away from your core values and the code that we set at the beginning of the year,” Boughner said Monday morning.
“I think that’s human nature, it’s because everybody wants to win. We talked (Monday) about just being composed, a team that needs to be more composed, that handles the adversity you get through the game, whether it’s the bad call the other night — you’ve got to go out and you’ve got to kill that penalty.”
“Or you’ve got nine minutes to go, if you let one in, you’ve got to try and find a way to get back. We didn’t do either. Same thing in Vegas when we’re in control of the game and start getting physical, and we lost (Couture) and (Tomas) Hertl, and then we didn’t get the job done there. So basically it’s talking about playing well enough in our last four games against some good hockey teams to win games analytically and all the categories.”