Kings Fall to Coyotes in Prospects Game
The Los Angeles Kings prospects lost to the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday night by a score of 4-1.
The Game was streamed by ArizonaCoyotes.com with no sound or replay, just the live feed. The feed could be found on Kings.NHL.com. The Kings Live Game Blog recorded play-by-play action for a complete game recap; including pre-game warmup photos, tweets, and listed lines.
In the first period Henrik Samuelsson, son of two-time Stanley Cup winner Ulf Samuelsson, scored a powerplay goal with a backhand shot against Patrik Bartosak in the first period giving the Coyotes a 1-0 lead. Mintes later Roland McKeown swatted a backhander past Coyotes goaltender Marek Langhamer to tie the game 1-1.
McKeown is an 18-year-old defensemen, who plays for the Kingston Frontiacs in the Ontario Hockey League. McKeown is known for his smart play, and all-around ability.
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No goals were scored in the second period. A close call was waived off about seven minutes in. Kings goalie Bartosak covered the puck after a flurry of saves, and the officials whistle blew the play dead before the puck was poked into the net. Early in the period a fight broke out between Kings forward Ryan Horvat, and Coyotes forward Dyson Stevenson. Horvat is at the Kings training camp on a tryout basis. A fight could show off some of his toughness, giving the Kings management an extra reason to keep him around.
In the second half of the second period the Kings had to kill off a 5-on-3 powerplay after penalties were taken by defensemen Zachary Leslie and forward Justing Auger. Bartosak stepped up his game and was a major factor in the Kings killing off both penalties. After the penalties ended the Kings switched out Bartosak for goaltender Brandon Maxwell.
Halfway through the third period Coyotes forward Tobias Rieder streaked down the left wing side and beat Kings goalie Maxwell on the short-side to make the score 3-1. The Kings upped the pressure but to no avail. After pulling the goalie with more than 2:30 left in the game, Kings defensemen Zachary Leslie tried to skate the puck out of the Kings zone on bench-side of the ice. Leslie turned the puck over at the Kings blueline and the Coyotes buried an empty net goal to make the score 4-1 with 30 seconds left in the game.
A late hit with no time left in the game caused a scrum that led to Kings forward Taylor Burke fighting Coyotes defensmen Joel Hanley. It was a short scrap with a couple good punches thrown. A draw, but for both players who are trying to make active roster spots, it showed they are willing to drop the gloves to stick up for their teammates.
The young prospects played well within the basic structure of the Kings system. Quick breakouts and hard forechecking. The young Kings generated a lot of opportunities but couldn’t cash in their chances. Defensively the young Kings gave up too many odd-man rushes; two resulted in goals. It’s difficult getting used to a new system and new teammates but the young Kings defense needs to tighten up their positioning. Too often young defensemen make turnovers or over-commit in the offensive zone which results in odd-man rushes. This is something that will need to be addressed as training camp progresses.
The young Kings need short memories as they have a quick turnaround, and a shot at redemption; squaring off against the Coyotes in less than 24-hours: Wednesday, Septemeber 17th at 2:00 p.m.
Sep 15, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Phoenix Coyotes players celebrate after a goal by right wing Brandon Yip (32) against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports