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SAN JOSE – A small but boisterous group of Los Angeles Kings fans took over a section in the upper deck of SAP Center. Their chants began before the game started, and only grew louder after their team scored a pair of first-period goals against the San Jose Sharks 18 seconds apart.
It was one of the few reminders Thursday of the once-great and passionate rivalry between the Sharks and Kings, one that’s gone mostly dormant in recent years.
The Sharks went on to lose 2-1 to the Kings, marking their sixth loss in seven games to their biggest Southern California rival, which moved one step closer to clinching a playoff spot for the third straight season.
The Sharks, meanwhile, moved one step closer to officially finishing in 32nd place in the NHL’s overall standings.
Klim Kostin scored his eighth goal of the season with 1:52 left in the third period to cut the Kings’ lead to one, bringing a rise out of the announced crowd of 12,266. But the Sharks (17-50-8) could get no closer, as they lost for the 11th time in 12 games.
Adrian Kempe and Akil Thomas scored for the Kings (40-25-11) at the 10:55 and 11:13 marks, respectively, in the first period as Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 25 saves.
Goalie David Rittich made 15 saves for the Kings, who moved seven points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Both the Kings and Blues have six games remaining.
“They’re big, they’re strong and they manage the puck well,” Sharks coach David Quinn of the Kings. “On top of other guys who are strong and big, they manage the puck well, so they’re always in a good position defensively. A lot of people like to talk about their 1-3-1, but I think there are a lot of other elements to their game that are very impressive.
“That’s why that team’s got a chance to win the Stanley Cup.”
The Sharks and Kings met in the playoffs four times in six years between 2011 and 2016, paving the way for the geographical rivalry to become one of the most heated in the NHL. Full buildings, star players, deep teams, and all kinds of hate.
It was hard, heavy hockey as both teams gave no quarter, and didn’t ask for any in return. Just great theatre.
“I saw it from afar when they were battling against each other. Big, physical, heavy teams,” said Sharks winger Luke Kunin, who got into a second-period scrap with Kings defenseman Andreas Englund. “It’s definitely a good battle and we want to get back to that type of hockey.”
So, when will it happen again?
When both teams are good at the same time, which might not be for a while.
The Kings began their rebuild in 2018, turning over their roster as they began to refill the cupboard with prospects like Thomas, whose goal was his first in the NHL, Arthur Kaliyev, Quinton Byfield (after winning a lottery), Alex Laferriere, and Brandt Clarke. They gave a big contract extension to Kempe, acquired Kevin Fiala via trade, and signed Phillip Danault as a free agent.
The Sharks, for all intents and purposes, really didn’t start the rebuild until early 2022 when they cut ties with Evander Kane. Other veterans like Brent Burns, Timo Meier, Erik Karlsson, and Tomas Hertl were all gone within two years.
Stars like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, so instrumental to the rivalry, are still in Los Angeles. But Jonathan Quick was among those jettisoned and Dustin Brown, who Sharks fans hated, retired.
Conversely, players Kings fans did not like, such as Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Burns, are no longer with the team.
The only Sharks remaining from the last playoff series with the Kings in 2016 are Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Logan Couture, and Ryan Carpenter.
The Sharks are building around a core that doesn’t have much of a history with the Kings, outside of some of the battles the Barracuda and Ontario Reign had in recent years.
Do the Kings really hate any of the new Sharks players? Do the Sharks really loathe any of the new-era Kings?
It’s going to take time for the Sharks to become competitive again, and who knows when they’ll make the playoffs and meet the Kings in another playoff series so the rivalry can begin another chapter.
“We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing,” Quinn said. “We are in a lot better position than we were two years ago and we knew that this was probably going to be the year that was going to be the most painful.”
Both home buildings used to be packed for games between the Sharks and Kings. Not so Thursday, and it was that small section of Kings fans that made the most noise.
Sharks fans chimed in with the occasional “Beat L.A.” But the home team didn’t do much to stir up the home crowd, with just 16 shots on goal in three periods.
Maybe that passion and that parity that fans of both teams were treated to a decade ago will return someday.
If it does, there’s nothing quite like it.
“There’s a lot of faith in our organization,” Quinn said, “and with the moves Mike (Grier) and our staff made and people we have here, things are going to turn around here quickly.”
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