LOS ANGELES _ San Jose Sharks coach Pete DeBoer spent the night shuffling up his top two lines. In the end, his bottom line won the game.
Joel Ward scored the game-winning goal at 12:50 of the third, redirecting Barclay Goodrow's shot from the side wall with his skate to give the Sharks (10-6) a 2-1 win over the first-place Los Angeles Kings (11-4-2) at Staples Center.
Joakim Ryan picked up his second NHL point by earning the secondary assist.
The fourth line notched the decisive goal after DeBoer split up Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski for the first time in his tenure as the Sharks coach. He eventually reunited them in the third period.
Martin Jones kept the Sharks in the game, stopping 26 shots in a pitcher's duel against Kings netminderJonathan Quick, who he backed up for two seasons in Los Angeles.
Jones closed his five hole to thwart Tanner Pearson's backhand attempt on a breakaway with 16:15 left in the third, allowing the Sharks to tie it up later in the period.
Melker Karlsson tied the game at 5:42 of the third, notching his third of the year by punching in the rebound of a Logan Couture shot on the rush. The assist gave Couture a team-leading 15 points on the season.
Dustin Brown opened the scoring at 8:30 of the first, scoring a Kings power play goal by redirecting an Anze Kopitar shot from the doorstep.
The Sharks power play continued to stagnate, going 0-for-3 in the contest. The power play failed to produce a shot on goal during its first opportunity in the opening frame, and in the second, Pavelski committed its fourth penalty in three games after just 27 seconds. The Sharks produced two shots on goal on their third power play in the third.
As a result, the power play is now 0-for-12 over the team's last three games.
