The Kings dominated the 1st period in Colorado and then began to lose momentum in the 2nd, which lead to a collapse in the 3rd. Let’s take a look at individual and team performances that may have contributed to the loss.
First, a brief explanation of the stats you are about to view. Shot attempts (aka Corsi) are all shots directed at the net (shots on goal, shots that missed the net, and blocked shots). This is used to determine which team was able to control the puck throughout the game at even strength. Teams that control the puck more often, win more often. Read more about this here.
Scoring chances are something that I track each game. There is a community of people that track scoring chances for different teams around the NHL. To read more about what constitutes a scoring chance and our endeavours to track them, click here.
Here are the numbers (tables are sortable):
Positives
- The Mike Richards line bounced back and had a strong game. Richards stayed above water in both the possession and scoring chance battle. He was winged by Jeff Carter and a rotating cast of left wingers as it looks like Dustin Penner (-2 Corsi) is in the dog house again after some lackluster play.
- The Kings 4th line was incredible. Colin Fraser lead all Kings forwards in shot attempts with a +7. Clifford and Fraser were both +2 in scoring chances as well.
- Trevor Lewis had his second stong game of the year. He lead Kings forwards in the scoring chance battle and was also a +7 in possession.
- Davis Drewiske bounced back in this one as well. Where he was tentative with the puck in the opener, in this one he was an asset in driving play. Perhaps playing with a laboring Matt Greene contributed to his struggles in game one. Nevertheless, this game was a good sign for him moving forward.
- Drew Doughty lead all Kings in ice time and ended up in the red in possession. This didn’t affect his scoring chance numbers. His +3 scoring chance differential lead all Kings defensemen.
Negatives
- Anze Kopitar didn’t look 100% in his first game back from a knee injury. He was a team worst -6 in attempts. When he went head-to-head against Paul Statsny he was dominated 7-1. Not a good sign, and here’s to hoping this was just rust and nothing more.
- Dustin Brown lead all Kings forwards in ice time and the team was able to control the puck when he was out there. Unfortunately, this didn’t translate to very many scoring chances. Brown was a team worst -3 in scoring chance differential.
- The Kings played awful hockey in the last two periods. They were dominated 23-33 in shot attempts and 5-9 in scoring chances in periods 2 and 3. If they can consistently play the way they did in the 1st, they will be a contender for the cup once again. If they play the way they did in the latter 2/3 of the game, it’ll be a long season.