Game Analysis: Kings beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3

First Period:

The Kings got off to a slow start offensively against the Ottawa Senators. In fact, they didn’t even take their first shot until Jake Muzzin blasted a thirty-five footer during  a power play from an Erik Karlsson penalty. This slow start was not surprising, he offense has been a common problem for the Kings in recent games. They only scored one goal against the Flyers, and they were shut out by the Sabres on Tuesday night.

Quick played well in the first period, saving all fourteen shots he faced, including one incredibly close shot that came off of a rebound. The referees reviewed the play to see if it crossed the line, and after a short review, they decided it was not a goal. The defense also played very well, with the exception of a turnover committed by Kyle Clifford. This strong play was also expected from the Kings because it has been strong the whole season, they only average two goals against per game.

These differences between offense and defense showed in the first period of this game, and the offense is something the Kings will need to fix if they want to be a serious playoff threat. The score at the end of the first period was Kings, 0- Senators, 0.

Second Period:

The second period was much more exciting than the first. Daryl Sutter clearly had an influencing speech in the locker room after the offense’s dreadful first period, because the Kings came out shooting. They scored one goal in their first five shots of the period after Jeff Carter won a face off back to Matt Greene. Greene shot the puck from about fifty-eight feet out, and Craig Anderson basically had no chance because there was so much traffic in front of him, there was no way he could see where the puck was going.

Nov 4, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter gestures during the third period against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Kings won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Later in the period, there was a fight between Kings’ Dwight King and Senators’ Jared Cowen. This fight lead to a five minute penalty for both players, plus Cowen got an extra two minutes for an illegal check to the head of Dwight King. Unfortunately, the Kings power play came up short for the second time of the night.

Nine minutes and seventeen seconds into the second period, Justin Williams scored his seventh goal of the season from twenty feet out, it was assisted by Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin. The puck hit an Ottawa defense men in front of the net, and it got redirected past Anderson.

The Kings were leading 2-0 until Matt Greene was tripped by Erik Condra eleven minutes and forty-six seconds into the period. This penalty would lead to a Senators’ incredible shorthanded goal. The goal was scored by Bobby Ryan, and assisted by Eric Gryba and Jared Cowen with five minutes and fifty-two seconds left to play in the second period. Ryan made an astounding move to get past the defender, and then it was just him and Quick. This would be his sixth goal of the season.

The Kings still need to work on creating more opportunities during their power plays, and capitalizing on the few opportunities they get. They also need to close out periods better and not allow goals. Luckily, the score after the second was Kings 2, Senators 1.

Third Period:

Wow! What a third period, it was even crazier than the second. The first goal of the period was scored by the Senators one minute and forty-four seconds into the game. Mark Stone (6) was credited with the goal, and it was assisted by David Legwand. This shorthanded goal came after Jeff Carter was slashed by Jared Cowen. The opportunity for this goal was created off of a sloppy turnover from Drew Doughty, but he would get his revenge later this period.

As a matter of fact, it was only thirty-six seconds later when Anze Kopitar scored his sixth goal of the season, and the Kings’ first power play goal of the night. The play was assisted by Jake Muzzin and, guess who, Drew Doughty. The Kings would strike again exactly one minute and forty-two seconds later with a goal from Trevor Lewis, his fourth of the season. Tyler Toffoli was credited with the assist and so was Jake Muzzin. This would be Muzzin’s third assist of the night, his career-high for assists in one game.

With one minute and twenty-one seconds remaining in the game, the Senators regained some momentum. Jared Cowen scored his second goal of the season, and it was assisted by Kyle Turris. There was a lot of traffic out in front of Quick, which made this a near-impossible save for him to make.

Nov 4, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin (6) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

However, with fifty-seven seconds left, the Kings buried the Senators chances for winning with a Tanner Pearson empty net goal. Pearson leads the Kings in goals with eleven so far this season.

The Kings played very well in the third period. They still allowed another late goal, but the offense was able to make up for it by striking fast and early.

Final Thoughts: 

The Los Angeles Kings’ offense was phenomenal against the Senators after a slow start, and if that continues this team will be unstoppable. The offense even scored a power play goal.

The Kings have one of the best defensive units in the league right now, and their goalie is no scrub. The only problems this team had tonight was allowing goals late in each period, and a few costly turnovers, but those are things that can be fixed in practice.

Another upside for Kings fans was the fact that Daryl Sutter made some great coaching adjustments during the game. He switched up all of the lines early in order to generate better offensive opportunities, and it paid off. Plus, his speech in the locker room after the first period must have been a motivating one to get the offense to come out in the second period and score in the first five shots.

After everything is said and done, this was a good game for the Kings. Their next one is away against the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow.