Monday night the Los Angeles Kings playoff hopes were considerably dashed after losing a heart-stopping game to the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in overtime.
The Kings jumped out to an early lead.
1:13 into the game Dwight King came in on a 2-on-2 with Jeff Carter. Carter carried the puck wide into the corner of the Canucks zone. Carter then threw the puck to the net, off King’s stick and into the back of the net. King was driving hard to the net and willed the puck past Vancouver goaltender Eddie Lack.
The game was back and forth and extremely hard fought. Every inch of the ice was contested.
At one point in the second period the Kings were carrying the flow of play, outshooting the Canucks 8-2. However, by the end of the period the shots were 10-8 in favor of the Kings.
In the third period Kings-fans hearts were in their throat’s:
Soooooooo what's everyone else doing for the next 20 minutes to keep from having a heart attack? #TakingSuggestions
— LA Kings Ice Crew (@LAKingsIceCrew) April 7, 2015
It was up and down hockey, back-to-back.
It started to look bad when the Kings were forced to take shots from the outside. L.A. was limited and they allowed themselves to be limited to weak scoring chances.
Then with 12:26 left in regulation Matt Greene was called for a 2-minute holding penalty. Greene was behind the Kings goal and was holding Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows against the boards after a body-check. Burrows used his stick to swat Greene’s stick off the ice, further away from Greene.
Enraged Greene released Burrows but continued to rough him physically to the ice. Burrows went down and Greene was called off.
Los Angeles Kings
Not a good call by the officials.
The Kings were able to kill off the penalty.
Unfortunately in the aftermath the Kings proceeded to run around, get out of position, and put themselves in a prone position.
20-seconds after Greene’s penalty expired Vancouver brought the puck into the Kings zone. Canucks defensemen Kevin Bieksa went to the front of the Kings goal, away from his position.
Henrik Sedin brought the puck behind the Kings goal and dropped a no-look pass all the way to his brother Daniel at the point. Daniel one-timed the shot to the top-right corner of the goal, through the screen and past Jonathan Quick. It was a sniper shot and a dagger in the heart of Kings fans.
Eventually time wound down and the game went into overtime.
Anze Kopitar played almost the entire five-minute overtime period.
The Kings were frantic and it looked like they were killing a penalty, with the Canucks putting the pressure on. L.A. had one or two good chances but they came on the rush. Vancouver was dominating the time in the attack zone.
After no goals in the overtime period the game went to a dreaded shootout.
Vancouver shooters: Nick Bonino, Radim Vrbata, Chris Higgins.
L.A. shooters: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik.
Only one player scored: Chris Higgins. Higgins faked a shot, pulled the puck to his backhand, and hesitated long enough for Jonathan Quick to go down before he flicked the puck into the back of the net.
Every player on the L.A. Kings brought the puck in and fired a wrist shot 10-feet from the goal toward Lack’s low glove. It was an unenthusastic effort.
Jonathan Quick stood on his head. At times literally:
This is Jonathan Quick's save of the year...right? #LAKings https://t.co/84CNP0ILZL
— Michael Castillo (@MichaelCastFS) April 7, 2015
Yannick Weber’s shot hit the post on this play, but Quick still gave an amazing effort to make the save.
The Canucks ended up out-shooting the Kings in the game, 38-37. Quick had a .974 save percentage, and helped the Kings kill off all three of their penalties.
Conversely L.A. went 0-for-2 on the power-play.
The Kings are now 2-8 in shootouts and 3-15 in shootouts and overtime this season.
The shootout-loss puts the Kings back on the outside of the playoff race. L.A. now has 93 points and sits in their same old place of 4th in the Pacific Division and 9th in the Western Conference.
Good news for the Kings: if they win out they are still in, no matter what.
The Kings next game is tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers. Puck-drop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PST at Rexall Place.
Next: Why Nick Shore Has Replaced Mike Richards
Apr 6, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin (not pictured) scores against Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 2-1 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports