Los Angeles Kings Can’t Find the Net in 1-0 Shutout to the Buffalo Sabres

Tuesday night the Los Angeles Kings were shutout by the Buffalo Sabres 1-0, at First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

Simply. Plainly. The Kings couldn’t score.

More accurately, they can’t score.

In their last two games, Tuesday in Buffalo and Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Kings have outshot their opponents 72-32. For all those shots the Kings have been outscored 3-1.

“Lazy effort by the Kings . . . there was too much reaching, poking and waiving at the puck . . . the Kings need to be moving their feet, playing the body, following through and finishing their hits.”

This problem has reached it’s apex. It’s never been more obvious than now. The Kings were shutout against the team that is tied for 24th in goals allowed in the NHL, with 85 goals against.

It’s hard to say, but we must admit and confess: the Kings have a problem putting the puck in the net.

Abundant shots on goal with minimal scoring production has plagued L.A. all season. The Kings are tied for 9th in the NHL in shots per game, with 30.7 shots. Meanwhile, the Kings are 18th in the NHL in goals per game, with 2.54 goals.

In contrast, Buffalo averages 1.57 goals per game. That’s the worst in the NHL, and the Sabres are the only team below the 2.00 goals per game mark.

The Sabres other numbers?

22.8 shots per game, worst in the NHL. 48 goals for, the fewest in the NHL. They also have, by far, the NHL’s worst goal differential at -37.

And that Buffalo team shutout a defending champion roster that is supposed to be known for its defense.

Is this jet-lag? Or is it the curse of the Stanley Cup hangover?

Whatever it is it needs to be fixed immediately.

The Kings need to find their Mojo, or groove, or whatever it is that gives them scoring swagger.

As for this game:

There were no goals in the first period. There were no goals in the second period.

There was only one goal.

Four minutes into the third period, it was Buffalo’s Tyler Ennis.

The Sabres were on the power-play when Sabre Drew Stafford had the puck down by the goal line in the Kings zone. Stafford passed the puck around the boards and behind the net to Matt Moulson. Moulson, coming from the other direction, started to wrap towards the front of the net. Instead Moulson made a pass two feet off the crease, to Ennis. Ennis cut toward the center of the net and shot the puck to the far side, over Jonathan Quick’s blocker.

Dec 9, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) looks back into the net after Buffalo Sabres left wing Tyler Ennis (63) scores a goal during the third period at First Niagara Center. Sabres beat the Kings 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Richards floated in front of the net, playing Moulson loosely. Richards put himself on the wrong side between Ennis and Moulson, not covering either Sabre. Richards poor choice of position was a problem for head coach Darryl Sutter.

Sutter commented on the penalty-kill after the game:

“It’s a bad play by Mike Richards. You can’t drop off. It’s a set play for us. You can’t drop off in the corner unless we have full control. You’ve got to cover the middle of the ice.”

Other than that major mistake Richards looked good. Richards was one of the few Kings that seemed to have energy; forcing and carrying the puck, trying to set up and make plays in the Sabres zone.

The game between the Kings and Sabres was somewhat uneventful. Buffalo plays that style of slap-hockey. The strategy, or lack thereof, makes it hard for opponents to get anything going.

Slap-hockey is destructive. It’s like the scene in The Mighty Ducks where Gordon Bombay is teaching his team to cheat:

How do you play against that? It’s frustrating. Slap-hockey creates confused gameplay. It makes everything sloppy in a condensed form of chaos that loses tempo, constructive play, and becomes boring. It’s professional Pong on ice.

You can see the full highlights from the Kings at Sabres here:

Lazy effort by the Kings. Even after the goal Buffalo scored, there was too much reaching, poking and waiving at the puck with their sticks. Instead the Kings need to be moving their feet, playing the body, following through and finishing their hits. That’s Kings hockey. That’s the Western Conference way. It’s the archetype the Kings created and parlayed into two championships.

L.A. was moving poorly. Heads down, slap around passing; just going through the motions, no real passion.

The goal by Ennis stunned the Kings. L.A. turned it up after that, outshooting Buffalo 14-5 in the third period, but teams can’t play 10-minutes of hockey and expect to win.

The Kings had once last chance to make it a game when Nikita Zadorov made a dirty hit on Dustin Brown, drawing an elbowing penalty. The Kings went on the power-play with 6:52 left in regulation.

L.A. was 0-for-2 on the power-play with 4 shots. The Kings also went 3-for-4 on the penalty-kill.

Another noticeable issue was L.A.’s ability to get the puck through traffic. The Sabres blocked an additional 25 shots by the Kings. If you want more disheartening statistics L.A. Kings Insider Jon Rosen has a few.

It was Enroth’s first shutout of the season for the Sabres.

Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick played well, unfortunately his numbers didn’t reflect that.