Sharks start road trip with disastrous defensive game in loss to Kings

Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News on Nov 5, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The San Jose Sharks allowed a breakaway goal to the Los Angeles Kings just 83 seconds into the first period, and for coach Ryan Warsofsky’s team, it only got worse from there.

Coming off a losing homestand, the Sharks began a three-game road trip on Wednesday in disastrous fashion, allowing three goals in the first period and two more in the second in a 7-2 loss to the Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

The Sharks have now lost five of six games, getting outscored 24-11 in the process.

Macklin Celebrini and Ivar Stenberg both scored for San Jose, with Celebrini’s power-play goal at the 5:05 mark of the second period snapping his personal six-game goal drought and giving the Sharks some life.

But the Sharks were already down by three goals, and instead of capitalizing on the momentum, they allowed dispiriting goals to Erik Haula and Adrian Kempe before the end of the second period, trailing 5-1 after 40 minutes.

Stenberg’s goal, his fourth of the season, also came on the power play. Goalie Yaroslav Askarov, who played all three periods, made 20 saves. The Kings scored five goals on their first 18 shots.

The defensive disaster-class started early for the Sharks, as Kempe got behind their defense, took a pass from Artemi Panarin and beat Askarov for a 1-0 Kings lead at the 1:23 mark of the first.

The Sharks have now allowed the first goal in seven straight games.

Kempe and Quinton Byfield then scored 2:29 apart, with Byfield’s power-play goal — after an ill-advised Tyler Toffoli tripping penalty — coming at the 18:38 mark for a 3-0 Los Angeles lead.

The Sharks then had another defensive zone breakdown midway through the second period as Haula, who took a pass from Kenny Connors, split Celebrini and Michael Misa in the slot area and beat Askarov for a 4-1 Kings lead.

Kempe then scored a power-play goal at 15:51 to help put the game away, if it hadn’t already been decided.

The Sharks are now 1-5-0 in their last six games, and it doesn’t get any easier from here. The Sharks face the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Friday, then fly to Dallas to play the Stars, who have won seven of their last 10 games, on Saturday.

Warsofsky and the Sharks thought they did some good things in a 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday, cutting back on the high danger chances allowed compared to other games this season. But the positives they grabbed were wiped away by the Kings, who set a new season high in goals.

Byfield scored twice, and Panarin finished with four assists as the Kings won for the fifth time in eight games after a 0-4-2 start to the season.

Sharks defenseman Eric Pohlkamp made his NHL debut and had three shots on net in 17:37 minutes of ice time.

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