Sharks can’t hold late lead, fall to Kings in OT

Vincent Lecavalier dashed those hopes with a late extra-attacker goal, and Marian Gaborik sunk a dagger in the Sharks’ efforts with a final-minute strike in overtime as the Kings beat San Jose 3-2 at SAP Center.

[...] that’s hockey, it’s a good hockey game and you can’t hang your heads after a loss like that.

Gaborik blew a shot past Sharks goalie Martin Jones with 53.8 seconds left in sudden death to decide the outcome — but it was the tying goal with 12.2 seconds left in regulation that stung the most.

Lecavalier got position on defenseman Brent Burns and punched the loose puck between the pads of Jones to tie it.

“You’ve got the one-goal lead late and you want to shut the door,” captain Joe Pavelski added.

Rookie left wing Joonas Donskoi won a battle behind the net with defenseman Jake Muzzin, and fed Couture for a one-timer that beat Kings goalie Jhonas Enroth low to the glove side.

The Kings had tied the game 1-1 on defenseman Drew Doughty’s power-play goal at 6:30 of the third after Sharks fourth-line right wing Mike Brown took a roughing penalty against Doughty in the neutral zone.

The Sharks scored the only goal of the opening 40 minutes when Pavelski scored his team-leading 24th at 3:39 of the second period.

[...] seven points behind the Kings, but with points in nine straight games, the Sharks feel like they’re building the momentum and confidence needed to make a run at Los Angeles.