It’s a sad day in the Kingdom.
It’s the end of a dynasty that almost was.
It’s like a Game of Thrones episode without all the betrayal, fantasy, and dragons.
Winter is Coming
Thursday night the Los Angeles Kings lost to the Calgary Flames 3-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome. The loss officially eliminated the Kings from the 2015 NHL Playoffs and a chance to defend their Stanley Cup title.
With the win Calgary earned a playoff berth for the first time in five years. Yuck.
L.A. made the mistake of letting Calgary’s top scorers go to work.
In the first period Johnny Gaudreau, who has been a King killer all season long, scored his 24th goal of the season. After tonight Gaudreau now has 4 goals and 8 points in 5 games against the Kings this season.
2:13 later Jiri Hudler scored his 30th of the season, making him the second player on the Flames to be a 30-goal scorer this season.
Despite outshooting the Flames 20-19 after 40-minutes it remained 2-0 Calgary.
Five-minutes into the third period Jordan Nolan made it a game, netting his 6th goal of the season from Alec Martinez and Mike Richards.
Nolan now has 6 goals, 3 assists, 9 points and a -6 plus minus rating in 59 games.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings fourth line shined late in the game.
The fourth line of Nolan, Mike Richards, and Kyle Clifford kept buzzing and pushing the puck deep into the Flames zone. The line continued to get minutes of ice-time late into the game.
There was intense battling back and forth but as the time wound down the Kings were unable to get sustained pressure.
L.A. pulled Jonathan Quick for an extra attacker with 1:10 left in regulation.
There was one last good cycle came when Drew Doughty was able to hold the puck in at the blue line, but the Kings couldn’t generate a solid scoring chance off Doughty’s effort.
With 50-second left Jiri Hudler scored his second of the night, dumping the puck into the Kings open goal. Gaudreau and Sean Monahan picked up the assists on the play.
Although the game was hard-fought and play was rough there was only one penalty assessed. Trevor Lewis had to sit two-minutes for a hooking call in the first period.
Apr 9, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter on his bench against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The game was representative of the Kings entire season. L.A. got off to a slow start, they put forth a great effort and outshot their opponent, top forwards weren’t able to score, and the Kings max effort came a little to late, coming up short by one goal the desperately needed.
L.A. outshot Calgary 34-25 in the game.
Jonathan Quick had a great performance. The first goal Quick allowed was a trickler on a funny rebound bounce, and the rebound shot that ended up in the net came through traffic. There was a bit of controversy but it ended up in the net, and now it doesn’t matter.
The second goal Quick allowed was a slapper from the slot and Hudler was uncovered. Quick probably should have had this one, but the only reason the opportunity came about was from a break down in defense.
Drew Doughty and Marian Gaborik had 4 shots a piece, but they couldn’t beat Flames goaltender Jonas Hiller. Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis, Justin Williams, Kyle Clifford, Alec Martinez, and Tyler Toffoli all had 3 shots but couldn’t beat Hiller either.
The Kings, and President/General Manager Dean Lombardi, have a lot of tough decisions ahead of them this offseason.
Unfortunately we now know there is one game left in the Kings season before those decisions have to be made.
The Kings last game of the 2014-2015 season is Saturday at high-Noon against the San Jose Sharks.
Next: Kings Cap-Cash Is In The Offense, They Need To Earn It
Apr 9, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) celebrate with teammates Calgary Flames win over Los Angeles Kings at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports