3 takeaways from LA Kings rookie faceoff blown lead against the Sharks

Under a minute into the 2025 Golden State Rookie Faceoff opener against the San Jose Sharks, the Los Angeles Kings got on the scoreboard to start taking control of the game at FivePoint Arena at Great Park Ice. Koehn Ziemmer got the Kings on the board right after the opening faceoff, scoring a goal just 16 seconds into the first period.

The Kings continued to control the pace of play in the first period of the rookie faceoff this afternoon against the Sharks. Roughly one minute after Ziemmer got the Kings on the board in the first period, Parker Berge doubled LA's lead over the Sharks on a nice pass on a two-on-one break against San Jose.

LA continued to keep its foot on the gas a few minutes later into the first period. After the first period's first eight minutes, the Kings were outshooting the Sharks by a margin of 7-2.

San Jose Sharks come to life offensively in the third period to bury the Los Angeles Kings in the Golden State Rookie Faceoff opener on Saturday afternoon

The pressure the Kings were applying on the Sharks resulted in two more goals later in the first period for LA. Kirill Kirasonov and Kenta Isogai doubled up the Kings lead on the Sharks before the end of the first period.

The power play got momentum going for the Sharks at about the midpoint of the second period. In a span of less than a minute's time, the Sharks scored a couple of goals to cut the Kings lead in half.

San Jose converted on another power play opportunity late in the second period to put the Sharks within striking distance of the Kings, down just one goal going into the locker room before the third period.

Special teams continued to haunt the Kings in the third period. A couple of San Jose goals in the third period on the power play gave the Sharks its first lead of the game over the Kings.

Michael Misa finally netted his first goal of the game for the Sharks, which gave San Jose an insurance marker later in the final period before the clock showed zeros.

Aatu Jamsen scored a goal to bring the Kings back within one on the scoreboard late in the third period. But a couple more Sharks goals put the Kings away decisively, after San Jose went on an 8-1 scoring run to end the game in the third period and late in the second.

Kirill Kirasonov contributes offensively in his first game in the United States

Kirasonov turned heads right from the start of his first game with the Kings on the blue line in the rookie faceoff this afternoon in Irvine, which was his first game playing in North America with LA.

He was the first Kings defenseman to score a goal against the Sharks in this afternoon's game, getting the puck past Sharks goalie Matt Davis in the first period right off a faceoff win by LA.

While I can't put the blame directly on any Kings defenseman in this game, including Kirasonov, there has to be some level of blame to go around for allowing five straight games in the second and third periods this afternoon.

Henry Brzustewicz flashes for the LA defensive core group

Even though he didn't get on the score sheet with a goal for the Kings in the rookie faceoff win over the Sharks this afternoon, defenseman Henry Brzustewicz looked fantastic for the Kings against a very talented Sharks top-six offense on the forward lines.

He found multiple ways to get involved in the game for the Kings. Brzustewicz showed his toughness, sticking up for his teammate when he stepped in to fight a San Jose player after a cheap shot against Liam Greentree when he was hit from behind in the second period.

Brzustewicz helped shut down a good Sharks offense that features some of the top draft picks in the rookie faceoff event this weekend from the past few years in the league, including Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov, in the first period and a half of this game.

That said, the wheels came off for the Kings in the second and third periods. Brzustewicz was responsible for putting the Kings shorthanded a couple of times late in this game, which cost the team during the scoring run the Sharks went on in the game's final 30 minutes.

Woolley and Brzustewicz have clear chemistry and confidence playing together on the blue line for the Sharks since they are a pairing together playing for the London Knights in the OHL this past season.

Third-period woes hurt the Kings

At one point early in the second period, the Kings led the game 4-0 over the Sharks after jumping out to a big lead in the first period of this contest. The Kings kept its foot on the gas in the first period, which looked to give LA a commanding lead to set the tone for the rest of the rookie faceoff.

The Sharks took advantage of a cold goaltender that hadn't settled into the game yet. Mattias Sholl allowed goals on the first two shots he faced when the Kings were on the penalty kill in the second period.

Penalty box troubles kept the Kings from extending the lead any further in the second period. And more undisciplined play led to the Kings spending a lot of time in the penalty box in the second period and later in the third frame.

LA also gave up way too many odd-man opportunities going into their own zone against the Sharks in the final period. The Sharks scored multiple goals on odd-man breaks against the Kings, including three on two-on-one scoring chances in the game's final 10 minutes.