LOS ANGELES _ Rookies Ryan Carpenter and Kevin Labanc are new to their team's feud with the Los Angeles Kings. Martin Jones and Logan Couture, though, have no shortage of history with the San Jose Sharks' Southern California rival.
All four made their presence felt Wednesday night at Staples Center. Carpenter and Labanc both scored, Couture had two goals and an assist and Jones was steady in net as the Sharks continued their recent domination over the Kings with a 4-1 win.
Carpenter's goal, the first of his career, gave the Sharks a 3-0 lead late in the first period. Jones, making a start on back-to-back nights for the first time this season, had 26 saves to improve to 6-0 against his former team in games in Los Angeles as a member of the Sharks.
Couture assisted on Labanc' first period goal, then gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead with 55 seconds to go in the first.
Labanc, who started the game on the second line, took a pass from Couture on 2 on 1 and one-timed it past Kings goalie Peter Budaj for the game' opening goal at the 3:32 mark. It was the second career goal for Labanc, 20, and his third point in four games.
The Sharks managed only two more shots over the next 12-plus minutes, killing one minor penalty to Paul Martin. But they came alive in the final minute.
Joonas Donskoi put a shot on goal that Budaj stopped, but Couture was right there for the rebound for his seventh of the season and his fourth in the last six games.
Just 30 seconds later, Carpenter took a pass from Mikkel Boedker at the Kings blue line and moved in on a 2 on 1 with Melker Karlsson. Carpenter gave a brief look over, but had a moment to take a peek at the net and beat Budaj with a shot between the legs.
The Kings came right back early in the second period to cut the Sharks lead to two. With Labanc in the box for hooking, Dustin Brown collected a loose puck right next to Jones and chipped it off the Sharks' goalie and in for his fourth of the season.
No whistle went and play went on briefly before officials gave Brown the goal after the next stoppage. The Kings followed that up with another chance, as Trevor Lewis carried the puck around Jones and nearly tucked it in. But Brent Burns slid to stop the puck and clear it out of harms way.
This was the Sharks' first game in Los Angeles since April 22 when they won Game 5 to clinch the opening round series between the two teams.
Jones made 18 saves for the in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes. He entered Wednesday with an 11-8-1 record this season.
Despite Jones playing Tuesday, it made sense that he would get the call to face Los Angeles. He had a 8-2-1 career record, including playoffs, against the Kings, and made 21 saves for the Sharks in their 2-1 win over Los Angeles in the season-opener Oct. 12 at SAP Center.
Jones was asked to start back-to-back games five times last season and had a 2-1-2 record in the second game.
"I think regardless he was playing tonight," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Wednesday morning of Jones. "It's a big game, four-point game and we're going with our best lineup."
Jones and Budaj were each making their 21st start of the season Wednesday, one game behind league leader Cam Talbot of Edmonton.
Budaj had started every game for the Kings during their five-game win streak, in which they've outscored their opponents 17-9. Budaj has a 12-6-1 record this season, as the Kings came into Wednesday with a 9-2 record at home.
During the win streak, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez and Jeff Carter had combined for nine goals and nine assists. Carter has four game-winning goals in that span, and has six game-winning goals for the season.
Not bad for a team that lost goalie Jonathan Quick after the first game against the Sharks, and has a total of 85 man games lost this season.
"They're playing very good hockey right now," DeBoer said. "They're not giving up much, Budaj's come in and done a really good job for them. The big guys have been scoring. They're what they thought they were and they're playing at a real high level."
_The Sharks did not make any lineup changes as forward Matt Nieto and defensemen Dylan DeMelo remained healthy scratches.
