Kings, Sharks both seeking elusive second straight win

The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks will be trying to win two in a row for the first time this month when they meet on Monday in Los Angeles.

The Kings beat the visiting New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday night, a win that came on the heels of a 1-6-4 stretch.

Kings coach Todd McLellan moved Quinton Byfield back to his natural center position against the Rangers and Byfield scored the go-ahead goal at 18:13 of the second period.

Byfield was initially moved to third-line center during a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday, and Pierre-Luc Dubois played left wing on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.

"I thought he was tremendous," McLellan said of Byfield's performance against the Rangers. "He controlled and took charge of his line. His assignments down low in the defensive zone were excellent. It didn't hamper him from creating offensively."

Byfield said there was a brief adjustment period when he was moved to center, but it didn't take long to feel right again.

"I played there my whole life," he said. "As the game went on, I felt more comfortable. The big thing for me was getting back into draws. I started off pretty good and then lost a couple, but I think all went pretty good."

One of Byfield's new linemates is Jaret Anderson-Dolan, whose backhand shot on goal was followed by Byfield's game-winner.

"Playing with him is pretty simple, you know he's going to get to pucks, make good plays, he's a skilled player too," Byfield said. "He can do a lot out there. On the goal (against the Rangers), I just went in and cleaned it up, but that was all Jaddy. Reading the play, making a good move to the net, that was all him there and I got rewarded for it."

The Sharks are coming off a 5-3 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night that was highlighted by the return of team captain Logan Couture, who contributed an assist in his season debut.

Couture missed the first 45 games of the season with a joint injury that caused inflammation in his groin, abdomen and hip

"It almost felt surreal when I stepped down on the ice," Couture said. "My first game in a long time. First game where my son was able to be at for the first period, saw him during warmups, so there are a lot of things going through my head there."

Couture centered the third line with Alexander Barabanov and William Eklund, but it was defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic who benefited from Couture's pass that gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 15:06 of the second period.

"We've been playing together for 15 years, so it's nice to have him back," Vlasic said.

The victory put the Sharks in position to win two in a row for the first time since early December.

"Winning is as good as it gets, especially in this league," Couture said. "I know that we can clean up a lot and play a lot better, but it's still fun to win."