Kings 2, Sharks 1
Marian Gaborik snapped a tie at 4:04 of the third period and visiting Los Angeles held on for its seventh consecutive victory in the latest installment of the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Kyle Clifford also scored for the Kings, who posted their fourth straight road triumph. Defenseman Jake Muzzin and Jeff Carter each recorded an assist while Jonathan Quick finished with 31 saves as Los Angeles jumped ahead of San Jose for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Blue-liner Brent Burns scored for the Sharks, who suffered their sixth loss in eight games (2-5-1). Tommy Wingels set up the tally and Antti Niemi turned aside 27 shots in a contest played before 70,205 fans.
Los Angeles, which was shut out by Anaheim in its first outdoor appearance last season, opened the scoring at 2:46 of the first period as Muzzin kept the puck in the offensive zone at the left point and unleashed a shot that Clifford deflected past Niemi. The Sharks drew even with 1:04 left in the session, when Wingels won a faceoff in the right circle and got the puck to Burns, who beat Quick with a shot from along the right-wing boards.
After a scoreless second period, the Kings moved back ahead just over four minutes into the third. Gaborik came off the bench on a line change and stole the puck from Burns in the neutral zone before blasting it past Niemi from the top of the left circle for his first goal in seven games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Carter's assist extended his point streak to six games. ... The road team has won 11 of the NHL's 15 regular-season outdoor contests. ... American Idol winner Kris Allen gave a pregame performance and also sang the national anthem, while Creedence Clearwater Revival lead singer John Fogerty performed a medley during the first intermission and Melissa Etheridge sang between the second and third periods.