Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller doesn't think opponents should sleep on the rebuilding San Jose Sharks.
"One thing people have to understand is, you shouldn't disrespect this team," Hiller said. "That's not a team that's trying to tank. That's a good hockey team. Strong players, real good back end. We played them three times (this season); they beat us twice. We barely beat them the one at home. I'm going to give them the respect they deserve first."
With the niceties out of the way, Hiller let his team have it for Monday's rough 7-2 defeat in San Jose.
"It was a hard game for 40 minutes ... and then we completely fell apart in the third period," he said. "Just unacceptable, what happened in the third.
"We can talk about the first 40, but it gets washed away with that third period."
The Kings and Sharks entered the final frame tied 2-2, but the floodgates opened for the hosts soon after. Macklin Celebrini, the 2024 first overall pick, scored one minute into the stanza, kicking off a flurry in which San Jose found the back of the net three times in a 2:40 span.
"Obviously, they got some life from it, and we had no pushback from there, which is probably the most disappointing part of the game," Hiller said.
Celebrini also scored the last tally in the Sharks' early-period outburst, which stood as the eventual game-winner. He recorded an assist in the second frame and joined Patrick Marleau as the second 18-year-old in Sharks history with a three-point game.
Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky seemed to like just about everything he saw from Celebrini on Monday.
"Him and I have had some conversations; sometimes he wants to shoot it through the goalie," the bench boss said. "He has a good release, a sneaky release where he can catch goalies like he did tonight. When you're not scoring, you press, and that's what happens as a young player. I give him a lot of credit, that conversation was after last game, and he responded."
Warsofsky added, "His game is developing away from the puck. The last couple games, he's been really good defensively. He's really coming on as a 200-foot player."
Celebrini is up to six goals and 10 points in 12 games this season.
The Sharks got off to a miserable 0-7-2 start to the campaign but have gone 7-5-3 in their last 15 games, bringing them to a 7-12-5 mark on the year. San Jose was 6-16-2 through its first 24 outings of its abysmal 2023-24 season.
The Kings will try to bounce back Wednesday against the league-leading Winnipeg Jets, while the Sharks will host the Ottawa Senators.
