Kings Beat Blackhawks In Shootout
Darryl Sutter said the Los Angeles Kings needed a good start to this game, and that’s exactly what they got. Right from the moment the puck hit the ice, the game showed passion. There was a lot of action from the Chicago Blackhawks shooting on net but Quick made some amazing saves and the Kings defense were on point. Once the Kings got control of the puck, the Kings had a 4 on 1 man advantage heading towards goalie Ray Emery in Chicago’s net. Slava Voynov shot and got the goal for the Kings putting them on the board with a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Dustin Brown and Justin Williams were credited with assists. This proved to be the only goal for the first period. It was a pretty physical game with a majority of the hits coming from Kings’ Kyle Clifford. Clifford dropped the gloves with Brandon Bollig and they both got five minute majors. The shots on goal for the first period ended with 17 for the Kings and 11 for the Blackhawks.
Marcus Kruger of the Chicago Blackhawks scored with about 7 and a half minutes remaining in the second period. It was a disappointing goal because Drew Doughty had just blocked a shot from Patrick Sharp. But then Doughty fell into the net, knocking down Quick and allowing Kruger an easy shot on net. But with a few minutes left in the period, the Kings took back control. Mike Richards knocked down Duncan Keith to get control of the puck and passed it to Dwight King who then gave it over to Jeff Carter. Carter shot the puck right through the goalie’s legs and into the net. It was Carter’s 200th goal and it gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at the end of the second period.
In between the second and third period sportscaster Mike Milbury went off on Drew Doughty and his lack of success this season. Milbury was less than complimentary. I couldn’t help but hope that Doughty might have heard Milbury so he would come out in the third period pissed off and ready to prove him wrong.
The third period had a nail-biting moment 6 minutes and 28 seconds in. Kings’ defenseman Rob Scuderi got called for tripping Viktor Stalberg on a breakaway. Stalberg was granted a penalty shot, but luckily for us Kings fans, Quick blocked the shot. A minute later Chicago’s 2nd goal came from Patrick Kane. No one from LA was happy with this goal. Darryl Sutter dropped a few F-bombs at the refs for not blowing their whistles when Quick looked in control of the puck, but the goal stood as good. So now the game was tied in the 3rd period. The Kings were out shot 16-7 in the third, and it headed into overtime.
The five minutes of overtime always seem so long. Neither team was able to score in OT and the game went to a shootout. It took 12 shots to end the game. Mike Richards got the only goal and helped Los Angeles get the much needed two points. The Kings will take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday at 7:30 back in LA for their first game home after the four game road trip.