The Kings effectively dismantled the team at the top of the Western Conference last night, with a 6-2 thrashing. Interestingly enough, although the Sharks are clearly one of the best teams in the league (at least through the regular season, we’ll have to see when the playoffs begin), the Kings have scored six goals on them TWICE! That’s a lot of goals against a good defensive team.
In the game, Jonathan Quick was a super-stud, stopping good shot after great shot throughout the first two periods. The most impressive performance had to be during the first period, where the Sharks were applying some serious pressure on the Kings, and only some big stops from Quick kept the Kings from giving up that all-important first goal. After Quick, the Kings switched the offense on. Six different Kings scored goals in the game, including Handzus, Moller, Kopitar, Smyth, Simmonds and Parse. As somebody watching the game, it really seemed like the Kings could score from anywhere. Indeed, the Kings put two goals past Nabokov on only five shots in the second period.
Drew Doughty is also somebody that should be mentioned. He’s played incredibly well over the past few games (heck, over his entire short career), and capped it off with a career-high four points in last night’s game. That’s an impressive tally for anyone. It’s even more impressive for a defenseman. It’s even MORE impressive for a 20 year old defenseman. Doughty is a stud. There’s probably not much else to say about that, but I’d imagine I’ll be banging that drum for quite a while now.
Let’s be honest, the Kings weren’t dominating the Sharks in the way the score seems to indicate. Regardless, they were executing in all the right ways. Their strong team defense, gritty offensive play, and incredible goaltending allowed them to build on their two back-to-back wins, and make it three in a row!
Up next: Detroit Red Wings