The Sharks face a familiar issue as their losing streak extends to six games.

The San Jose Sharks endured a six-game losing streak, with a particularly troublesome second period emerging as the primary culprit. Despite holding a one-goal lead, the Sharks faced adversity as they allowed three unanswered goals in the second period, including two within a 13-second span, resulting in a 5-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

Fabian Zetterlund opened the scoring in the first period with his 10th goal of the season, granting the Sharks their first lead since a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 12. However, the Kings capitalized on two turnovers by the Sharks early in the second period, seizing a 2-1 advantage.

Shortly after the ensuing faceoff, the Kings exploited another turnover, with Trevor Lewis gaining possession behind the Sharks’ net and ultimately scoring at the 3:10 mark.

This sequence appeared to shake the Sharks’ confidence, and the Kings extended their lead with insurance goals from Pierre-Luc Dubois and Adrian Kempe. The Kings secured their fourth win in five games amid the Sharks’ challenging stretch.

Kaapo Kahkonen made 37 saves on 42 shots, successfully stopping five shots during penalty kill situations. Neither team capitalized on power-play opportunities, as both the Sharks and the Kings went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

During the six-game losing streak, the Sharks have been outscored 28-10, with a notable 13-3 deficit in the second period alone. Over the course of 35 games in the season, San Jose has been outscored 51-23 in the second period.

The Sharks, with a season record of 2-9-1 against Pacific Division opponents, are set to host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday in their second-to-last game of 2023. They will conclude the calendar year on Sunday with a matchup against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver.

Fabian Zetterlund scored at the 11:02 mark of the first period during the recent game. Kevin Fiala, possessing the puck in the Sharks’ zone, attempted a pass to defenseman Mikey Anderson, but Zetterlund intercepted it, skated in alone, and fired a wrist shot past goalie David Rittich.

Alexander Barabanov and defenseman Calen Addison made their return to the Sharks’ lineup. Barabanov had missed the last two games before the break due to an undisclosed illness, while Addison was absent for the previous three games with a lower-body injury.

The Sharks faced challenges with injuries, having four players on injured reserve before Christmas. The situation worsened as forward/defenseman Jacob MacDonald joined the injured list on Wednesday, experiencing a lower-body injury during the third period of Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Despite MacDonald’s goal, the Sharks lost 7-4, extending their losing streak to five games.