Kings Shutout By Phoenix Coyotes 1-0
Well it was a not so happy homecoming for the Los Angeles Kings and their fans who were eager to see a win. The Kings were shutout 1-0 against the Phoenix Coyotes last night. Prior to the game, I read that the Kings have the fewest goals in the league. Its easy to see why that would be when they can’t manage to score one goal in a game. Being a fan for almost 22 years, doesn’t mean that I have gotten used to this kind of frustration or disappointment. I just want them to win, or at least score.
Coyotes’ goalie Mike Smith did an outstanding job not letting in any of the Kings 28 shots on goal. The Coyotes had 21 shots on goal, and even though they had less shots, they had the one that counts. The puck that made it into the net. The game started out extremely fun and exciting. The two teams combined at the end of the first period had 40 penalty minutes. I’ve been to a lot of hockey games in my day, and I don’t think I’ve seen that much fighting and energy in the first period. It left my friends and me hopeful that with all that energy and intensity, the Kings would get an exciting win.
Staple Center should have had “Let’s Get Physical” playing or some other type of fight song. At one point, Mike Smith shoved Anze Kopitar and all hell broke loose sending both teams into a giant dog pile. Kopi ended up getting a penalty for goalie interference, but the Coyotes ended up with two penalties leaving the Kings with a one man advantage. Sadly, and not super surprisingly, they weren’t able to capitalize on the power play. It was pretty fun watching all the fights including a scrap between the Kings’ Captain Dustin Brown and Coyotes Captain Shane Doan. It was also fun to watch Kings’ Mike Richards drop the gloves with Martin Hanzal, who has a good 1/2 foot advantage over Richards.
When the 2nd period started and they had made it 5 1/2 minutes without fighting, we were pretty surprised. The second period definitely had less fighting, but the penalties still came against the Kings. The one that hurt the most was the call against Jack Johnson for delay of game. Phoenix scored on their power play thanks to Radim Vrbata. Vrbata was assisted by Ray Whitney and Keith Yandle . Not too long after, Mike Richards was given his second penalty of the night. This time it was for unsportsmanlike conduct and he wasn’t happy about that to say the least. At the end of the 2nd period, the Kings were down a goal, and we didn’t receive free McFlurrys. Lose-lose situation.
Probably the only thing I found exciting about the third period was when fourth liners Kevin Westgarth and Paul Bissonette got into a scrap. The Kings had many chances throughout the game to score, but none of them were successful. Towards the end of the third period I was hoping for another last minute goal to take the game into overtime and at least get one point. Not even Eric Cartman could get the Kings riled up to score. The game ended in a 1-0 loss to Phoenix and with fans booing the Kings.
The Kings quest for a win, (or maybe just one goal?), continues tomorrow, Saturday February 18th against the Calgary Flames.
And on a happier note…
Happy Birthday to m FAVORITE hockey player, Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc Robitaille!