The Los Angeles Kings (23-20-14) and head coach Jim Hiller came out of the three week break for the Olympics with a collapse of a loss in the final frame in the third period yesterday night (Feb. 25) against a shorthanded Vegas Golden Knights (28-16-14) team in the Pacific Division on home ice.
Third-period blown lead on the scoreboard defeats Artemi Panarin's debut game for the Los Angeles KIngs in the West vs. Vegas on Wednesday night
Vegas got the scoring started offensively on the scoreboard in the opening frame on a goal from Pavel Dorofeyev in the first period early vs. the Kings and Hiller on the ice. But it didn't take all that long for Hiller and the Kings to respond on the scoreboard in the opening frame in the first period yesterday vs. Vegas.
Quinton Byfield tied the game on the scoreboard with a nice goal offensively later in the opening frame in the first period vs. Vegas yesterday. The Kings grabbed the game's first lead on the scoreboard in the middle frame in the second period on a goal from star forward Adrian Kempe, pushing back for a lead of 2-1 before the second intermission yesterday vs. Vegas.
It was only under 16 minutes into his first game with the Kings in the Pacific Division that forward Artemi Panarin registered his first point on the stat sheet with LA offensively yesterday. He got an assist on the goal scored by Byfield in the opening frame in the first period.
The final frame in the third period is when it all fell apart on the ice and on the scoreboard yesterday for the Kings and Hiller in the Pacific Division in the West. Vegas scored five goals on the scoreboard in the final frame in the third period, including a stretch of under four minutes that the Knights tied the game up on the scoreboard and jumped out to a lead by a couple of goals to start pulling away.
Hiller and the Kings lost all of the momentum on the ice and on the scoreboard in the final frame in the third period, marked by a physical and depleted Golden Knights team winning a game in the Pacific Division on home ice yesterday against LA.
Here are three takeaways from the Kings' disappointing 6-4 third-period loss to the Golden Knights in the Pacific Division on home ice at Crypto Arena on Feb. 25 in the first game after the Olympics three-week break.
Artemi Panarin's gets off to a great start in the game's first 40 minutes for the Kings vs. Vegas
The game's first 40 minutes on the scoreboard in the opening frame in the first period went as planned if not even better on the ice offensively in the zone for Panarin and the Kings in his debut with No. 72 yesterday for the team. Panarin made a nice play at even strength at 5-on-5 play for the Kings to jumped out to the game's first lead in the middle frame in the second period in the game for the team yesterday, registering a secondary assist in transition for Kempe to put home the puck.
Panarin also helped make a play to register a primary assist on special teams on the power play on the 5-on-4 man advantage for the Kings in the opening frame in the first period for Byfield.
"He got two assists, he had some other chances, set up some other plays, I think he gave us what he what he’s going to give us. That line together, despite playing their first game, I thought looked like they had chemistry. They moved the puck around between the three of them pretty well. That’s probably the positive from the evening. He’s a great player, you saw that tonight and you’ve seen that from last 10, 12 years in the league."Jim Hiller
Same woes costing the Kings in the final frame on the ice in the Pacific Division
The game collapsed in on them for the Kings in the final frame in the third period on the ice and on the scoreboard in what felt like under five minutes yesterday. The Kings built a lead and momentum on the ice and on the scoreboard in the middle frame in the second period for the second intermission and going into the final frame vs. Vegas.
The lead that Panarin and Byfield helped build on the scoreboard in the opening frame and in the middle frame in the second period yesterday vs. Vegas was crumpled and tossed in a matter of what seemed like the blink of the eye in the final frame in the third period.
"They played hard. So, it’s the NHL. They played hard. They’re missing some of their high-end guys, they made it hard on us, they checked hard. We had an opportunity, clearly, to win the game, and made three mistakes in four minutes and all three of them ended up in the back of the net."Hilller
In this past three games this month in the month of February for the Kings, LA has lost three games by relinquishing a lead or a tie on the scoreboard in a matter of five minutes or fewer on the ice in the Pacific Division.
Missed opportunity in a winnable game
There aren't many excuses for Hiller and the Kings from the middle frame in the second period on the scoreboard yesterday in the Pacific Division. The Kings had the momentum on the scoreboard going into the final frame in the third period, getting more high and medium-danger scoring chances to score the puck offensively in the game's first half yesterday (per Natural Stat Trick).
" I think playing them and Edmonton, two big, divisional opponents, are big games for us. Obviously they still played really good, all the guys came and checked hard, played hard, but missing their top guys is an opportunity that you can’t miss."Quinton Byfield
I know that Vegas is a good team in the West in the Pacific Division this regular season in this past few months in the third period in the final frame. But the Kings shouldn't be losing to a team missing the likes of Marner, Eichel, and Stone offensively in the active roster lineup yesterday in the Pacific Division.