Final in San Jose: Sharks 6, Kings 3

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The Kings’ six-game winning streak was halted emphatically Monday in San Jose, where the Sharks chipped away at the impeccable penalty killing, stingy defense and stellar goaltending that had carried the Kings to the top of the Western Conference.

After letting support players carry most of the early load, big guns Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley and Joe Pavelski scored third-period goals to propel the Sharks to a 6-3 victory over the Kings before a loud and animated sellout crowd at HP Pavilion.

The Sharks’ output represented the most goals the Kings had allowed this season. Marleau’s goal, a power-play rebound that eluded Jonathan Bernier at 2:39 of the third period, ended the Kings’ streak of killing 22 consecutive penalties. Pavelski added a late power-play goal for the Sharks’ final score.

This defeat was the first time the Kings (12-4-0) lost a game in which they had scored first. They had been 9-0-0 when they struck first.

The Kings, now 4-4 on the road, looked little like the sure, defensively responsible team that had won eight of its previous nine games. But the Sharks (9-5-2) looked little like the team that had struggled to find its rhythm over the first 15 games, a team that Coach Todd McLellan had said earlier in the day wasn’t always committed or engaged.

The Sharks were committed Monday, responding quickly after the Kings had cut their lead to 4-3 at 7:06 of the third on Jarret Stoll’s redirection of a shot by Rob Scuderi. Merely 43 seconds later, Heatley beat Bernier with a hard shot from the high slot.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports.

-- Helene Elliott in San Jose