3 takeaways from the LA Kings OT loss vs. San Jose

We got to see a new-look set of forward lines for head coach Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings (10-6-5) on Thursday night on the road against the Pacific Division foe San Jose Sharks (10-8-3). The Kings rallied for a third-period comeback to make a one-goal push to get the game into overtime.

Goals from Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe gets the Los Angeles Kings one point in a 4-3 overtime loss vs. San Jose

Newly-extended star forward Adrian Kempe scored the goal that tied the game up late in the third period for the Kings against the Sharks on the road yesterday. The Kings and Hiller were down by at least one goal on the scoreboard for most of this game until late in the third period.

But the Sharks never pulled away too much in this game in the first 40 minutes in the first and second period, thanks to goals from forwards Joel Armia and Anze Kopitar. LA was able to crack Yaroslav Askarov in net for the Sharks for a couple of goals in the game's first two periods.

We saw the return of forward Andrei Kuzmenko to the forward lineup for Hiller and the Kings yesterday. The lines were also shaken up, with Kopitar centering Kuzmenko and winger Trevor Moore on the Kings' second forward line vs. the Sharks.

Philipp Kurashev scored the only goal in the shootout to get the Sharks two points in the standings and come away with the win in San Jose late this week.

Here are three takeaways from the Kings' 4-3 overtime loss on the road to the Sharks at the SAP Center on Nov. 20.

Adrian Kempe helps the late comeback in the third period

There weren't a whole lot of chances on goal that Kempe had for most of the game yesterday against the Sharks. But the one high-danger scoring chance Kempe got late in the game in clutch time in the third period, he cashed in on. Kempe scored the game-tying goal with just over a minute remaining on the game clock in the third period for the Kings to send the game to overtime.

The fact of the matter is that the Kings needed to take advantage of more scoring opportunities and to harness more momentum earlier in the game. This Sharks team wasn't going to roll over for the Kings yesterday, and that was evident with the back-and-forth battles on both sides of the ice in overtime on the ice.

Kempe said it well when he told the media postgame that the team needed to convert on more opportunities in the offensive zone during the game yesterday vs. the Sharks.

"I think there’s a couple bounces where maybe they were pinching, where we could have had a two-on-one, even a 2-on-0 that maybe didn’t go our way, but we stuck with it. I got a rewarded with the with the tying goal at the end. Unfortunately, couldn’t get the extra point tonight, but overall, good solid effort from everybody."

Adrian Kempe

Anton Forsberg comes up big late in the game to assist the third-period comeback

Yesterday was a rest day on the road to cap the Kings' six-game road trip earlier this week for starting goalie Darcy Kuemper. Backup goalie Anton Forsberg and veteran Pheonix Copley made the trip to Northern California for the Kings yesterday to face the Sharks.

I don't think the save percentage does Forsberg justice in terms of how good he was late in the game yesterday for the Kings in net. He was great in net for the Kings late in the game in the third period in clutch time. Forsberg stopped double-digit high-danger scoring chances from the Sharks yesterday (per Natural Stat Trick).

The Kings put together an impressive run in the third period, led by Forsberg, who stopped a trio of high-danger scoring chances from the Sharks late in the game. He also backstopped the Kings with multiple big-time saves in high-danger areas around the net in overtime, including two saves on Sharks' odd-man rushes and breakaways in extra time.

Offensive line shifts help spark more scoring for the Kings

Even though the power play on special teams didn't come through yesterday for the Kings in the loss to the Sharks, the results in the offensive zone were much better for LA against San Jose on the road. The Kings generated over 30 shots on goal against the Sharks yesterday, and scored at least three goals for the first time since the win on the road in the East this past week against the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime.

The return of Kuzmenko to the Kings' top-six forward lines group yesterday, as the Kings got multiple goals from the top two lines against the Sharks. It was clear that Kuzmenko helps the Kings' forward lines generate more offense, and create more chances on special teams on the power play.