Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Jarret Stoll scored in the fourth round of the shootout, lifting the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 victory over San Jose for their third straight win.
After the first six shooters all failed to score, Stoll snapped a shot over the glove of Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi to break the stalemate.
"I'm looking at a left-handed catching goaltender and a right shot," Kings head coach Terry Murray said of sending Stoll out fourth. "His read on that is to shoot the puck."
Jonathan Quick stoned Patrick Marleau at the other end, sending LA into the All-Star break on a winning note.
Ryan Smyth and Alexei Ponikarovsky scored in regulation for the Kings, with Ponikarovsky's goal tying the game at 2-2 early in the third period. Quick had 22 saves in the win, including eight in the third period and overtime combined.
Ryane Clowe and Devin Setoguchi tallied for the Sharks, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Niemi allowed two goals on 20 shots.
"It was a tough game," said Clowe. "I thought we played pretty hard. Both teams played like they needed those points. It would have been nice to end it on that shootout."
Quick had eight saves and Niemi six in a scoreless first period. Smyth broke the deadlock with a wrister through traffic in the slot 13:35 into the second.
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead before the end of the period, however, with Clowe and Setoguchi scoring 39 seconds apart.
Clowe kept it himself on a rush and beat Quick glove-side with a wrister from the slot. Setoguchi came around the left side of the net and slipped one through to give San Jose the lead at 16:03.
It remained a 2-1 game until 5:47 into the third when Ponikarovsky netted a loose puck from in front of the Sharks' net.
Both teams are off until Tuesday, when San Jose will host Phoenix and the Kings will visit Minnesota.
San Jose was trying to win five in a row for the first time since January 16-23 last season...The Sharks were 0-for-3 on the power play, while LA went 0-for-1.