The Los Angeles Kings outshot the Philadelphia Flyers 35-13 today, but it didn’t matter. The Flyers triumphed 2-0, by capitalizing on a turnover halfway through the game and providing the dagger on a late power play.
This one’s gonna be short.
Bright spots? The Kings obviously controlled the play for the most part. The modified first line of Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, and Jeff Carter looked dangerous despite being unable to find the net. The familiar Dwight King–Jarret Stoll–Trevor Lewis line was also pretty effective. Robyn Regehr played his 1000th game, so congratulations are in order.
I mean, what else can you say about this game? Steve Mason played well, and deserved his shutout, but it’s honestly hard to give him credit with the rut LA is in. At the other end, Philadelphia scored twice. Here’s how.
Goal number one: Midway through the second, Jake Muzzin attempted a cross-ice pass in his own zone which was knocked down by Claude Giroux. The Flyers moved the puck well, and Vincent Lecavalier fooled the defense into thinking he would shoot. Jonathan Quick and Jake Muzzin both played the shot, and Lecavalier’s pass went to an open Wayne Simmonds at the side of the net.
Goal number two: With Philadelphia on the power play, Wayne Simmonds and a couple Kings went for the puck in the corner. The puck bounced out straight to Scott Hartnell, who fed across to Giroux. No chance for Quick on that one either. Justin Williams hit the post on a wraparound about ten seconds before the Kings took the penalty.
The Kings got a short 6-on-4 at the end of the game, but a few good looks went begging. With five seconds left, Philadelphia cleared the puck one final time, and all six Kings stopped skating. We’ve seen individual players visibly frustrated, but that sequence at the end said it all: the Kings are unable to score, and they just don’t know what else they can do.
Chicago comes to town on Monday, and simply scoring a goal won’t be good enough to win. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some ice cream.