NHL Stadium Series 2015: Score and Twitter Reaction from Kings vs. Sharks

The Los Angeles Kings won their seventh game in a row on Saturday night, beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 inside Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Although it would be too early to say that Saturday's game had playoff implications, the Sharks and Kings entered the game within two points of one another. San Jose occupied the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, and on the outside looking in sat Los Angeles.

After a dreadful January that saw them tumble down the standings, the Kings caught fire ahead of their Stadium Series matchup with the Sharks. Even though the reigning Stanley Cup champions have 24 games left in the regular season, defenseman Brayden McNabb wasn't going to downplay Saturday's meeting between conference foes.

"Tomorrow will be a great experience, but it comes down to getting two points," he said, per Abbey Mastracco of Fox Sports West. "It's a must-win for us."

His teammates apparently got the message as the Kings drew first blood to open the game.

Just two minutes and 46 seconds into the first period, left wing Kyle Clifford got a stick on the puck to deflect a shot from defenseman Jake Muzzin into the net. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi looked to have Muzzin's shot in his sights, but the deflection left him helpless.

According to the NHL, it was the third-fastest goal at an outdoor game:

Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider noted how it also opened Los Angeles' scoring account in the Stadium Series:

The Kings' advantage lasted a little over 16 minutes, with Sharks defenseman Brent Burns tying the game with 1:04 remaining in the first period.

San Jose center Tommy Wingels won a faceoff in the offensive zone and immediately got the puck out to Burns. Burns waited a few seconds before sending a right-handed wrist shot past Jonathan Quick.

Burns has been a steady offensive presence all season. The goal moved him into a tie for second in the league among defensemen.

Dan Rosen of NHL.com thought the 29-year-old did a good job of getting to a spot on the ice where he'd have a chance on goal:

Kevin Young bemoaned how the goal wiped out what was an otherwise great period for Los Angeles:

After an entertaining open 20 minutes, neither team could find the breakthrough in the second period. Both teams created a few chances for themselves, with the Sharks enjoying the majority of the advantage. According to Rosen, they went on a stretch in which they nearly tripled the Kings' shot output:

San Jose will rue the fact that it failed to turn any one of those 20 shots into a goal.

Kings right wing Marian Gaborik gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead 4:04 into the third period. He stole the puck off Burns near center ice and skated ahead to set up for a vicious slap shot that flew by Niemi.

Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register noted how Gaborik had previously been stuck in the midst of a power outage:

The Sharks became more desperate as the minutes ticked down. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at Quick in the hope that something would work, but he and the Kings defense held strong over the final 15-plus minutes to secure the vital win.

Los Angeles will have to feel better about its postseason chances after the victory, but it can't start getting ahead of itself. It has plenty of work left to do to get into the playoffs.

Still, a now seven-game winning streak has given the team a wealth of confidence.

Meanwhile, the Sharks will have to put this one behind them. They've now lost eight of their last 11 games and sit just out of a wild-card spot, so it will be important that they close out February with a couple of wins. San Jose plays the Ottawa Senators next Thursday and meets the Detroit Red Wings in a week.