Los Angeles Kings Drop Fourth Straight Game to Carolina Hurricanes
The Los Angeles Kings dropped their fourth straight road game to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night. The Kings got into a 2-0 deficit early into the second period, and were not able to recover, ultimately losing 3-2 in regulation.
There was some good news for the Kings on Sunday night:
Too bad they were mostly ineffective. Gaborik was limited with his ice time due to a lack of endurance from so much time off. Gaborik played 13:49 the 5th lowest of all the Kings, registering 1 shot, and no other stats.
Anze Kopitar was had a few good plays but wasn’t himself. Kopitar had a chance to tie the game late in the third by burying a rebound at the side of the net, but was denied by Carolina goaltender Cam Ward.
Jonathan Quick ended up getting the start in net for L.A.
Sunday morning, before the game, head coach Darryl Sutter said he wanted the team to get off to a quick start in the game tonight. When asked what he was looking for out of the first period coach Sutter responded:
“You know, we just want to get everybody going. I know the penalties and that have been talked about, but really, those are slow penalties, if you look at the guys who’ve taken ’em. Those are slow penalties. Those aren’t penalties that we normally take . . . and that’s cost us in terms of having to chase the game a little bit. You’re going to have it always where you’re not going to have the lead every game, but the two-goal thing, it’s a tough one. That’s why guys talk about it when teams come back from two goals, because it doesn’t happen very often. And even the other night, we could’ve. Heck, we thought we were going to. You know, if Brownie scores in the penalty shot it’s a totally different game. But in this league it’s tough, so you’ve got to try and avoid that stuff.”
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It’s scary; it’s hard to tell if that quote came before or after this game. The only thing that gives it away is when Sutter talks about Browns penalty shot. So coach wanted them to get out to a good start, jumping on the Hurricanes early.
Instead, the Kings allowed their 9th first period goal of this four game road trip.
On a four-on-three Hurricans player Zach Boychuk brought the puck into the Kings zone, then made a great cross ice pass to Chris Terry from the top of the circle to the inside-slot hash-marks. Terry took a shot, Jonathan Quick made the save and then Victor Rask tapped in the loose rebound past Quick. It was Rask’s first NHL goal. 1-0 Hurricanes.
25-seconds into the second period Justin Williams was called for a hooking penalty on Hurricanes forward Nathan Gerbe. 25-seconds later, Williams was leaving the box.
On the power-play the Hurricanes cycled the puck down beyond the goal line to the side of the net. Elias Lindholm made a pass from behind the goal line out to Andrej Sekera out at the point. Sekera wound up then slap-passed the puck to Chris Terry at the opposite side face-off dot. Terry one-timed the pass into the net with a powerful slapshot. 2-0 Hurricanes.
Just the position coach Sutter didn’t want his team to put themselves in: down by two goals.
Five minutes later the Kings were on the power-play and got one back at least. On a dump into the Carolina zone Tanner Pearson forced a turnover in the corner. Andrej Sekera made a bad no-look pass that defensive partner Justin Faulk mishandled. Justin Williams picked up the turnover, cut back to the slot and passed the puck to Drew Doughty at the point, instead of shooting. Doughty one-touch tapped a pass over to Mike Richards across the slot, and Richards one-timed a slapper into the net. 2-1 Hurricanes. It was a great play by Williams to throw a head-fake at the slot and then make the pass back to the point.
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Things got quiet until four minutes left in the second. On what seemed to be a harmless zone entry Hurricanes forward Nathan Gerbe carried the puck through the neutral zone, entered the Kings zone, and tapped a pass to Lindholm. Gerbe headed to the front of the net. Lindholm was gliding forward. Kings defensemen Robyn Regehr failed to step up and force the play, so Lindholm snapped a quick shot, using Regehr as a screen, and sniped a shot over Quick’s blocker.
The Kings seemed to get it together in the third period, pressing the game a little more. The Kings opened the game up, forcing aggressive play, though they began to gave up more chances to the Hurricanes. It was too little too late for the Kings to regroup and come all the way back against Cam Ward.
Eight minutes into the third Kings defensemen Alec Martinez made it a game. Martinez stepped up at the Carolina blueline. Martinez held the puck in the zone, and as it bounced off the boards he swung his hips in position and one-timed a shot on net that made it through a number of screening players, to put the Kings down by 1.
That was the end of the rally. The Kings had a power-play opportunity in the last three minutes of the game but weren’t able to set up solidly, as more sloppy play led to a kill by the Canes. With 50 seconds left Quick was pulled for an extra-man opportunity, but the Kings couldn’t get control. They could only stop the Canes from scoring an empty net goal.
Perhaps all the travel has bothered the Kings as they have been frantically running around and not moving their feet particularly quickly. The Kings skating has been shaky, they look tired, and haven’t carried themselves well.
Nov 2, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm (16) is congratulated by teammate Nathan Gerbe (14) after his 2nd period goal against the Los Angeles Kings at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
The Kings looked disheveled all game. There was too much running around in both zones, with very little established control. Players were chasing the play, which is very uncharacteristic for the Kings; a team that is typically structured, known for playing very good positional hockey. It was obvious the Kings were chasing, not just by the lack of positional play, but because the Kings were taking a number of penalties. “Slow” penalties as coach Sutter calls them, come from chasing the puck all over the place, and not being able to keep up with opposing players.
Nov 2, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward (30) stops the shot by Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar (11) during the third period at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
The Kings special teams continue to be brutal. The Kings were 1-for-3 on the power-play, and 2-for-4 on the penalty-kill. Again the Kings have had a penalty kill percentage well below 60%, which is atrocious.
It’s safe to say we know what the team will be working on in practice on Monday.
Mike Richards in particular had a good game. Scoring a goal and getting a +1 plus/minus rating. Richards was one of three Kings to have a positive plus/minus rating. The other two were, at the time, line-mates Trevor Lewis, and Tanner Pearson. That’s what the Kings need out of their fourth line.
Dustin Brown had a good game. It may not have shown in his stats. Brown was a -1, with 0 points, 3 shots and 2 hits, but at the end of the game Brown was flying around trying to will his team back to life; back into the game. Brown was creating chances in the Hurricanes zone, and drew a penalty on Jay Harrison with three minutes left in the game.
The Kings captain has struggled this year, catching criticism for scoring only 1 goal in 12 games, while going -4.
It was another game where the opponents jumped on the Kings, to the surprise of the team and fans alike. The Kings are now 0-3-2 on the road, and 0-3-1 on this current road trip. L.A. has one last chance to get a win away on this trip as they face-off against the Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tuesday, November 4th. Puck-drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PST.