Jones didn’t seem to break a sweat when he posted a 30-save shutout against the Vancouver Canucks in his preseason debut with the Sharks on September 22, so it isn’t entirely surprising that he isn’t getting worked up about facing his former-squad, the Los Angeles Kings, in the season opener at the Staples Center on Wednesday.
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A key moment came in the second period, with the Sharks clinging to a 2-1 lead thanks to goals by Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski on the power play.
“It means a lot, but it really can’t change anything about the player I am or what my game is going to be like …”
Both the Kings and the Sharks missed the playoffs past year. “He’s got ice in his veins”, said DeBoer.
Regarding the run-in with Lucic, Couture said: “I just finished my check”. “That’s hockey, right? You’re supposed to finish your checks”. “I didn’t think there were players that you’re not allowed to hit in the league”.
“Obviously I’m not doing this alone”, he said.
“I don’t know why I got a match penalty”, Lucic said. He wasn’t tested much in the second period against his former team until he made a late sliding stop on a shot by Tyler Toffoli, who was right on the doorstep. Brown’s shot from just inside the blue line was tipped by Nick Shore past Jones just 1:49 into the first period.
One crucial reason Pavelski is fit to lead his club is simply because he remains their best player heading into 2015-16.
“This was a great way to start the season for us”, he said. He made that clear with his words and with the way in which he contorted his face when asked about 2014-15 and all that went wrong for him and the Kings. The Bruins then flipped him to the Sharks, and Jones finally had a chance to start.
“We were pretty sloppy”, Kings captain Dustin Brown said.
“We played against a big, fast team and we didn’t play like a big, fast team”.
These teams have split their last 20 meetings dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 season, but 8 of the Kings’ 10 wins have come in Los Angeles. The past two campaigns have marked an offensive surge for Pavelski, as he tallied a career-best 41 goals in 2013-14, and followed that up with 37 markers last season.
– Christian Ehrhoff recorded a team-high three shots on goal for the Kings.
Even before Lucic and Couture exchanged pleasantries, the game featured plenty of the heavy hits and hard feelings common to this simmering rivalry. The only good thing for the Kings is, if you’re going to get beat in the opener, you might as well receive a season-opening, eye-opening stomping. Couture crashed the net with 3:30 left and received a penalty for goalie interference. The Kings added a combination of grit and offense in the form of Milan Lucic, who was acquired from Boston for a package that included Jones.
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Donskoi, a Finnish free agent who won a roster spot out of training camp, scored in the third period.
