The Sharks Smell Blood—Ope, Wait, It’s Their Own

The Los Angeles Kings played as smooth a game as you’ll ever see when they hosted the Sharks on Wednesday night, building a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looking back as they coasted to a 7-2 win. The Kings suffered through a troubled start to their campaign, losing six straight at the very beginning. They’ve since done some course correction, but teams good and bad are fattening up on San Jose these days.

Just one minute into the evening, as the Sharks struggled to control possession in their attacking zone, L.A. playmaker Artemi Panarin got the puck on his stick by the boards and quickly fired a long-distance pass to Adrian Kempe, who’d disappeared behind the defense. The Kings’ reigning top scorer finished his goal on the breakaway, starting his journey to an eventual hat trick.