Coming off a regulation loss and a shootout loss, the Los Angeles Kings had to win this game in order to break the tie between them and the Colorado Avalanche before heading into the Olympic break. Conveniently, the Kings were playing the Avalanche where they soundly dominated the entire game. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire game and it looked like every one of the Kings did as well.
The Kings started the game off the way they have been for virtually every win they’ve had so far and played like gang-busters even when Rob Scuderi took the five-minute Boarding penalty in the second period. The only time they appeared to falter through the entire game was when the Avalanche dumped the puck into the Kings zone where it took a funny bounce and squirted past Jonathan Quick to slowly make its way to the post. Thanks Matt Greene for getting on that and whew! Oscar Moller had a fantastic third Kings goal that sealed the deal and got Richard Clune his second NHL point after notching his first in the middle of the second period.
Jack Johnson had a decent game after I thought he was going to spend half of it asleep on the bench. After having an unforgettable time chartering a plane for him and his family to get to the Olympics, he wasn’t completely horrible in the game. With this shutout win, the Kings remain in the middle of the top 8 pack in the Western Conference with 78 points (37-20-4). They are now on a break while five of the players head to Vancouver Games. These players are Quick (USA), Dustin Brown (USA), Johnson (USA), Drew Doughty (CAN), and Michal Handzus (SVK).
Lastly, come back tomorrow for an announcement that will span the length of the Olympics.