oup how weve come together, Krueger said. This is really not luck, guys.Its not luck. Its talent.Slovak goaltender Jaroslav Halak has stopped 63 of 65 shots in his first meaningful games since March because of a groin injury, Chara is doing his job on defense and Kopitar and Marian Hossa are supplying

LOS ANGELES -- Although the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings have one of the NHLs liveliest rivalries, the ice has been tilted decidedly toward the north in the past 14 months.Particularly when the clubs meet down south at Staples Center, where the Sharks have made themselves at home.Logan Couture had two goals and an assist, Ryan Carpenter scored his first NHL goal and San Jose extended its recent mastery over the Kings with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night.Kevin Labanc also scored and Martin Jones made 26 saves against his former team in the Pacific Division-leading Sharks fifth win in six games. Couture and Carpenter scored 30 seconds apart in the final minute of the first period, and Los Angeles couldnt recover from that defensive lapse.Anytime we play LA, theres no speeches needed, San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. We know its going to be a hard game, and our guys respond to the challenge.They also make themselves at home in downtown Los Angeles. The Sharks won at Staples Center for the sixth consecutive time, including three playoff victories last spring.San Jose ousted the Kings in the first round on the way to the Stanley Cup Final, and the Sharks control over their oldest rival has continued this fall with two regular season victories.They play tough in this building, Couture said. They come out with energy. Theyre physical. Theyre big. Theyre strong. Theyre difficult to play against, (but) this is how we played last year down the stretch and into the playoffs. We get up on teams, (and) its tough for teams to come back. We defend well, and (Jones) makes big saves and we walk out with the win.Couture, who sharply criticized the Kings and Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Drew Doughty last year after their playoff series ended, added an empty-net goal. He has only two multipoint games this year -- and both were against the Kings.Doughty tried and failed to keep Coutures late clearance from settling in the Kings empty net.I saw the replay and got a little chuckle out of it, Couture said. Hes a special player, a guy I see all the time in the summer. Its always fun to play the best players in the world, and its fun we get to play him all the time.Dustin Brown scored for the Kings, whose five-game winning streak ended with another frustrating night against their upstate rivals. Peter Budaj stopped 20 shots in Los Angeles first home loss in seven games since Nov. 1.We know theyre a good team, Gaborik said. It was a tight game out there at times, but they had a few odd-man rushes which we normally dont give up. Hopefully our game will get better and better.After Labanc converted Coutures pass on a 2-on-1 break to open the scoring, Couture got his team-leading eighth goal in the final minute of the Sharks three-goal first period.Carpenter, an AHL All-Star last season while leading San Joses top affiliate in scoring, found the net in his fourth NHL game over two seasons -- although Budaj probably should have stopped the shot between his legs.Joel Ward had two assists in the sequence for the Sharks.Brown finally got the Kings on the board early in the second period, roofing a rebound of Gaboriks shot during a power play for his fourth goal.Game notes Gaborik played his second game of the season and got his first regular season point since Feb. 12. He missed Los Angeles first 21 games with a broken foot. ... San Jose beat Los Angeles 2-1 on opening night at the Shark Tank. ... Los Angeles had the previous three days off. D Matt Greene returned to the lineup and Tom Gilbert was scratched.UP NEXTSharks: Host Canadiens on Friday night.Kings: At Coyotes on Thursday night.Jarrett Allen Nets Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. DeAndre Jordan Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. https://www.netsrookiesshop.com/Drazen-Petrovic-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Henry Ellenson Nets Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. Kenneth Faried Nets Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker.TORONTO -- The speed and skill of Team North America has captured the imagination of fans watching the World Cup of Hockey.The methodical, self-proclaimed boring play of Team Europe has just captured two victories.Three days into the World Cup of Hockey, Europe is the first team to four points and has shown it belongs in this tournament. By beating the United States and the Czech Republic, the European all-star group of players from Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Denmark, Austria, Norway and France sent a message that its not an underdog.Coming in here at 33-1 longshot, the Las Vegas bookies, its a lot of fun, coach Ralph Krueger said. I just never believed those numbers. Weve never used any negative motivators in our process. Its always been about us finding our potential, and the belief that we could match with anybody here at this tournament.Europe has found its potential. Offensive production has come from Germanys Leon Draisaitl, Slovakias Zdeno Chara, Slovenias Anze Kopitar and more.But no one expected even this collection of European stars from non-power countries to come together like this and play like a national team.Theres just complete buy-in on this group, Krueger said. Ive never experienced anything quite like this as a coach in 25 years of head coaching, where a group just bought in so quickly and sacrificed for each other.Players have their native flags stitched on their shoulders, but the NHL-created Team Europe crest isnt something they dreamt of playing for. North Americas Johnny Gaudreau even scoffed at a question about the crest on his jersey on Sunday, because its not something that existed even a year ago.Thats what makes Europes impressive showing at the World Cup even moree impressive.ddddddddddddIts 33-to-1 odds were the longest of any team on the board, and Draisaitls overtime goal against the Czech Republic on Monday put Europe on the verge of a spot in the semifinals.Im just so proud of the way the players have come together in this short period of time, how theyre representing their countries on their arms and as a group how weve come together, Krueger said. This is really not luck, guys.Its not luck. Its talent.Slovak goaltender Jaroslav Halak has stopped 63 of 65 shots in his first meaningful games since March because of a groin injury, Chara is doing his job on defense and Kopitar and Marian Hossa are supplying strong play up front. Those players are all NHL stars and together theyve fared better than any one of their national teams would have against this level of competition.Were certainly very excited at what we did so far with the two games, Kopitar said. Were staying in the moment. Weve certainly realized that we have a pretty special thing going here.After winning two games, Krueger proclaimed Europe is not done. A win by Canada in its game against the United States puts Europe into the semifinals, but dont expect this sewn-together all-star team to suddenly think its not a 33-to-1 shot to win the World Cup.Favored Canada awaits Wednesday.Definitely thats going to be a different animal, Hossa said. Its going to be a great measurement of where were at. Obviously theyre huge favorites at home, so well try to surprise them.Just like Europe has surprised everyone so far.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno . ' ' '