Kings 4, Sharks 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In his first game with the Kings, goaltender Jhonas Enroth led Los Angeles to a 4-1 win over the struggling San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
The backup to Jonathan Quick stopped 39 of 40 shots and continued to be a nemesis for the Sharks, who lost their third in a row. Enroth posted a 3-0 record, a 1.24 goals-against average and a .965 save percentage during four career games against San Jose as a member of the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars.
Enroth was key as the Kings' penalty-killers went 5-for-5 to propel Los Angeles to a third straight win after the team began the season with three losses in a row.
San Jose (4-3-0) lost its third consecutive game.
Center Jeff Carter scored two goals to lead the Kings' attack. Carter potted Los Angeles' second power-play goal at 9:37 of the third period with a wide drive that ricocheted off the ends boards, bounced back over the cage and caromed off goalie Martin Jones' right pad into the net.
When Carter beat Jones to cap a two-on-one at 3:46 of the second period, the visitors built a 3-0 lead despite recording just 10 shots on goal. San Jose coach Peter DeBoer challenged the goal, looking for a missed offside, but the appeal failed and San Jose lost its timeout.
The Sharks finally broke through Enroth when Joel Ward backhanded a feed from right winger Joe Pavelski feed into the net at 15:06 to pull within 3-1. Ward had just been moved to left wing on the top line.
The Sharks dug themselves a 2-0 hole in the opening 20 minutes despite outshooting the Kings 18-8. San Jose failed to convert on two power plays, and Los Angeles collected just its second man-advantage goal of the season late in the period.
Kings right winger Tyler Toffoli stickhandled around the right pad of Jones and scored into an empty net from behind the goal line at 11:37 for his team-leading fourth goal to break a scoreless tie.
Left winger Milan Lucic doubled the Kings advantage with 27.2 remaining in the opening period when he got a stick on defenseman Christian Ehrhoff's drive from the high slot to redirect his first goal as a King past Jones.
NOTES: G Jonathan Quick rested Thursday after starting each of the Kings' first five games. He is expected to return Friday when Los Angeles hosts the Carolina Hurricanes. ... Sharks D Paul Martin (lower body) missed his third consecutive game, while rookie LW Joonas Donskoi (lower body) missed his fourth in a row. C Ben Smith (upper body) remains day-to-day. San Jose will be without C Logan Couture (broken fibula) for four to six weeks. D Mirco Mueller, recalled from AHL San Jose, made his season debut Thursday. LW Micheal Haley and C Bryan Lerg also were promoted to pair with RW Mike Brown on San Jose's fourth line. ... The Kings quickly recalled D Jamie McBain from AHL Ontario after rookie D Derek Forbort became ill during the team's optional morning skate. ... Los Angeles was also without D Matt Greene (upper body) and LW Dwight King (foot). C Jordan Weal was a healthy scratch.