“Dwight King was the best left winger in training camp.”
For the past month, that line from Darryl Sutter served as a bit of a punchline. Tonight, he earned his title! Dwight King got his first career multi-goal game, and it was a hat trick in the Los Angeles Kings’ 7-4 win. So, on the blog that uses Dwight King pictures for articles that have nothing to do with Dwight King, we celebrate the left wing’s finest hour.
Goal 1
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A few minutes after Anze Kopitar’s slump-buster, Dwight King worked to get the puck along the boards and tipped it along to Kopitar before cutting towards the middle. Kopitar delivered a no-look pass behind him, and King immediately took a wrist shot. With Smith sliding to his right juuuuuuust enough, the puck beat him on the short side.
SKILL: quick hands, movement
REACTION: not bad, eh?
Goal 2
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Dwight King again kicked off the offensive play, and it again led to a goal. After entering the zone, he skated along the goal line as Justin Williams fired the puck across the front. By the time the puck caromed to Robyn Regehr at the point, King was parked alone in front of Mike Smith, and he was able to tip Regehr’s low shot through Smith’s five hole.
SKILL: positioning, hand-eye coordination
REACTION: all business.
Goal 3
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As the Kings attempted to ice the game with a 6-4 lead, Anze Kopitar grabbed the puck after a spell of Phoenix pressure. Kopitar made a great play to lift the puck out of his zone and hit King on the left side. King got the puck past the red line before hitting the empty net and kicking off the celebrations.
SKILLS: finding open space, shooting a puck in an open net
REACTION: joy, with disbelief.
In all seriousness, Dwight King stepped up tonight. The Kings needed 5-on-5 scoring badly, and they got it from the newly promoted winger. Whether or not that continues is anyone’s guess, but congrats to Dwight King, everyone’s (current) favorite player, on a career night.