What we learned from the Kings’ loss to the Sharks in Game 1 of Western Conference first round

Here are three things we learned from the Kings’ 4-3 loss to the Sharks in Game 1 of the Western Conference first round on Thursday, along with a few more takeaways before they try to regroup for the second game of the series on Saturday.

Joe Pavelski’s star turn

The big players had big games for the Sharks.

Sharks forward Joe Pavelski stepped up with two goals — on three shots — and played just under 20 minutes. He had the winning goal, not only winning the faceoff but then fighting off Kings center Anze Kopitar and beating goalie Jonathan Quick on the wraparound.

“A big-game guy,” Sharks Coach Peter DeBoer said. “He’s our captain for a reason. He scores a lot of key goals, leads the league in game-winning goals and so he’s been clutch for us like that all season.”

Kings’ depth at defense tested

Defenseman Alec Martinez missed the end of the regular season with an unspecified injury, sitting out the final four games.

He returned to action against the Sharks and did not play in the third period, logging just under 12 minutes of ice time. It was unclear whether he re-aggravated the previous injury or suffered a new one. He blocked a shot near the end of the second period and appeared to be shaken up.

Clarity won’t be coming from Kings Coach Darryl Sutter.

“He didn’t play the third period,” Sutter said when asked about Martinez’s status. “Didn’t play most of the second period, either.”

Special teams, loomed large, again

It was an odd game of numerous momentum switches.

For the Kings, it was difficult to sustain because they spent so much time killing penalties.

“We lost the special teams battle,” Kopitar said. “First and foremost, we took too many penalties. You can’t give them that much momentum. We have to do a better job staying out of the box.”