Saturday night the Los Angeles Kings road-trip winning streak came to an end. The Kings dropped a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center after getting down early.
Perhaps it was just the exhaustion of a long road-trip but tonight the Kings got into old habits and ended up seeing double.
It started early.
3:15 into the game the Wild harmlessly dumped the puck into the Kings zone. Minnesota forward Nino Niederreiter was the first to the puck. Niederreiter played it around the boards to Chris Stewart. Stewart got the puck over to captain Mikko Koivu. Koivu passed it back to Niederreiter who had cut to the front of the net unaccompanied by an L.A. defensemen. Niederreiter was able to hang on long enough to cut around Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and backhand the puck into the net.
10-minutes later it was Koivu who picked up a goal. It came on Minnesota’s 9th shot of the period, as the Wild broke in on a 3-on-2 started by a Kings turnover in the neutral zone.
After the first period Kings head coach Darryl Sutter must have sensed something was wrong with his team. Sutter hasn’t been happy with the teams inability to put the puck in the net lately, as he expressed earlier in the day to L.A. Times reporter Lisa Dillman:
It must have been a tense locker-room after the first period. To make a further statement Sutter decided to sit starting star goaltender Jonathan Quick, replacing him with backup Martin Jones. Quick allowed 2 goals on 9 shots.
The Kings got the message and came out with more fight in their spirits in the second period.
L.A. pushed back in the period outshooting the Wild 17-5. Sadly, Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk stood on his head stopping 16 shots.
Dwight King was the only L.A. player to break through. Defensemen Andrej Sekera stood tall at the Minnesota blue line, holding the puck in zone with a poke-check. The loose puck was picked up to Tyler Toffoli who moved it down low to Jeff Carter, putting Carter and King on a short 2-on-1. Carter made a precise pass at the right second giving King the opportunity to one-time a shot past Dubnyk.
Mar 28, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Chris Stewart (44) and Los Angeles Kings forward Jordan Nolan (71) fight in the second period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Nolan stepped up for the Kings later in the period dropping his gloves with Minnesota’s trade deadline acquisition Chris Stewart.
The Kings finished the second period by failing to capitalize on two back-to-back power-plays. At one point, for 20-seconds the Kings were 5-on-3 after Wild star Ryan Suter took a 2-minute slashing penalty.
The third period was uneventful until the dying minutes.
With 4:04 left in the game Tyler Toffoli took a penalty for tripping Suter. On the power-play Niederreiter picked up his second goal of the game and his 24th of the season. Niederreiter re-directed a point shot from the slot over Martin Jones’ glove.
Then, with 1:22 left it was deja-vu all over again.
With Martin Jones pulled for an extra attacker, Wild captain Mikko Koivu was able to steal the puck and shoot it into the empty Kings goal. It was Koivu’s 2nd goal of the night, his 3rd point of the night, and his 14th goal of the season.
It was 2 goals for Mikko, 2 goals for Nino, 2 points the Kings needed, 2 points the Wild captured, and too bad.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings fell into some of their old habits: coming out of the gate slow, getting behind early, not capitalizing on special teams and outshooting their opponents but not outscoring them.
L.A. outshot the Wild 32-20 by the end of the game. The Kings also went 0-for-3 on the power-play and 1-for-2 on the penalty-kill.
Jeff Carter picked up an assist on the night, putting him on a three-game point streak. Carter is the Kings leading goal scorer, and is second on the team in points. In 75 games he has 26 goals, 56 assists, +5 plus/minus, and 9 power-play goals.
Jonathan Quick had been playing better recently. Quick is a major reason why the Kings have been able to make this current playoff push at the end of the year.
Perhaps coach Sutter wanted to send the message that the team needs to pick it up and they can’t keep relying on Quick to bail them out all the time. It’s also a long-term move. Quick has played a ton of hockey this season. Quick has played in 66 games and started 65.
If the Kings want to make it into the playoffs they are going to need to keep riding Quick, and once they get in he’ll be the starter for every game.
Going pointless Anze Kopitar’s five-game point streak was snapped in loss. It certainly wasn’t Kopitar’s night as he was a -3 in the plus/minus column.
L.A. is still in 3rd place in the Pacific Division with 88 points. The Calgary Flames are right on their tail with 87 points. If they fall behind the Flames the Kings will be in 9th in the Western Conference, which means they will be out of a Wild-Card, or playoff spot.
The good news on the night, if there is any, is that the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime. Despite the Canucks earning one-point they were denied the second.
Vancouver remains ahead of the Kings in the standings, in 2nd in the Pacific Division. Now with 91 points.
The Kings road-trip wraps up Monday night against Western Conference foes, the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck-drop at the Madhouse on Madison better known as the United Center, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PST.
Next: Tyler Toffoli Not Disciplined For Hit On Alex Burrows
Mar 28, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu (9) scores in the first period against the Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) at Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota Wild beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports