And so they did it again. The Kings came out against a team that had beaten them only recently (4-1) in Columbus, and played one heck of a game across the board. Quick was solid, Parse put another point on his NHL resume, Frolov netted two goals, and Kopitar put some distance between him and Ovechkin for the NHL point scoring lead.
The Kings jumped out to a nice two goal lead in the first period, on goals from Handzus and Kopitar. Despite having to face a penalty shot from Rick Nash, Quick came up big and easily turned him away. The Kings headed into the first break up two goals, and apparently looking for more. To open the third period, Scott Parse got himself back on the scoresheet, with another excellent pass into the crease, where Stoll unleashed a blast into the top of the net, extending the lead to 3-0. Of course the Blue Jackets did have abit of life, for a little while, and responded with a goal of their own. The Kings and Blue Jackets traded off the next goals, leaving the Kings still ahead 4-2. And that was all she wrote. The Kings extended their lead with two goals from previously benched Alexander Frolov, and the game was over. The Kings won handily 6-2.
It was a truly enjoyable game to watch for Kings fan, especially if you’re following Kopitar’s impressive run at the top of the scoring charts. While Kopitar would be the first to tell you that winning is more important than his individual scoring numbers, there’s no question that his scoring helps the teams immeasurably. The secondary scoring is coming on strong, and the Kings have scored 23 goals in their last 4 home games. That’s almost 6 goals per game, and enough to propell them to the top of the NHL in team goals scored.
The reality is this. The Kings are probably not going to run the table this season, going wire to wire at the top of the league. But this start is enough that with some consistency, we might be able to see Kings playoff hockey for the first time in quite a while. Something that I’ve personally been craving for quite a while now.
Up Next: San Jose Sharks