On Martin Luther King Jr. Day the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Calgary Flames in the third meeting of the two teams this season.
First thoughts: the Kings defense is back! After two periods of play L.A. limited the Flames to under 10 shots on goal.
In the first period no goals were scored.
Halfway through the game the shots were 23-5 favoring the Kings. The score was 0-0.
Puck Prose
With 4:04 left in the second period, L.A. newcomer Nick Shore took a two-minute penalty. The Flames were desperately throwing everything at the net. On the power-play Calgary took 4 shots on goal, nearly doubling the 5 the had all game up to that point.
After forty-minutes the shots were 27-9 Kings.
The third period had the fewest penalties, and the most scoring.
Jarret Stoll was first to ring the bell for the Kings.
The puck was along the boards in the Flames zone. Captain Dustin Brown worked the puck back to Matt Greene at the point. Greene wired a slap-shot that beat Flames goaltender Joni Ortio high over his glove. The goal was originally credited to Greene, but was later given to Stoll after further review showed Stoll tipped the puck in the slot.
Almost four-minutes later, Calgary’s Sean Monahan jumped on a puck-fumble by Alec Martinez at the Flames blue line. Monahan raced down the ice on a near break-away; Robyn Regehr was pressuring him from the inside slot. Regehr couldn’t prevent Monahan from releasing a shot, that beat Jonathan Quick underneath his arm.
There was no more scoring in the third, but tempers flared as Regehr and Calgary’s Mark Giordano were sent off to the box with 15-seconds left.
The penalties forced the first minutes of overtime to be played in a 3-on-3 format. It was exciting, end-to-end action. The two teams took turns getting 2-on-1’s back-and-forth, until the penalties expired.
Into the last-minute of overtime the Flames brought the puck into the Kings zone on a 2-on-2. Mark Girodano was the late trailer streaking into the Kings zone. Girodano received a pass but was defended well by the Kings. Girodano was forced wide and had to dump the puck around the boards to a teammate.
The puck was not in a threating area of the zone, behind the net. As Robyn Regehr went behind the goal in pursuit of the puck carrier, the Kings began to get out of position. Calgary worked the puck around to defensemen Dennis Wideman who was at the hash-marks by the boards. Wideman snapped a shot that appeared to hit the cross-bar and bounce wide.
Upon further review the puck went into the net, hit the in-net camera and came out the other side of the goal.
Another two-points stolen by the Calgary Flames.
It was the fifth-consecutive road win for Calgary.
In the end, the Kings outshot the Flames 34-23.
The Kings are now 0-1-2 against the Flames this year. It’s a killer because tonight’s loss means Calgary is now 1 point ahead of L.A. in the Pacific Division standings.
There was a total 15 penalties assessed in the game. The Kings went 0-for-4 on the power-play, while Calgary went 0-for-3. So much for special teams.
Last night snapped a four-game point streak for Marian Gaborik. Gaborik and Kopitar, the Kings Deadly Duo, have been rekindling the fire the last few games. Unfortunately the troubling-two-some couldn’t contribute on the score board against the Flames 23-year-old call-up rookie goaltender Joni Ortio.
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Doughty played over 30-minutes. 31:51 to be exact; with 4 penalty minutes, 4 shots, and 5 hits. In interviews this season Doughty has emphasized how he loves to play big minutes, and have the puck on his stick when time is running out.
Doughty can’t do everything for the Kings. Clearly the Norris Trophy contender needs help. Kings teammates need to step up.
Robyn Regehr returned to the lineup. Regehr’s a veteran presence the banged up defensive core needs. Though his return wasn’t glorious: Regehr was a -2 on the night with 0 points, 2 penalty minutes, 7 hits, 3 blocked shots, and 18:26 of ice time.
Barring the loss, Jonathan Quick played well. Returning to form, Quick stood tall late in the game as the time ticked down to the wire. The game winning goal beat Quick from a poor angle, but he didn’t get much help from a defense that was scrambling in front of him.
Quick stopped 21 of 23 shots, for a .913 save percentage.
“We need to points right now,” said Captain Brown after the game. “The fact of the matter is we need points, especially against teams like that. It doesn’t matter how good we’re playing or how bad we’re playing, we need to find ways to win games.”
Amen captain.
L.A.’s next game is Wednesday, January 21st, at SAP Center against the San Jose Sharks. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PST. It is the last game before the Kings have a week off for the NHL All-Star break.
Next: NHL Three Stars of Week Fifteen
Jan 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Calgary Flames goalie Joni Ortio (37) defends the goal against Los Angeles Kings right wing Marian Gaborik (12) at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports