Stop me if you’ve heard any of this before…
…no, wait, that may take too long…anyway, off we go…
Kings start slow in the first period.
Kings play dump and chase.
Ultimately, a Kings dump and chase leads to a Detroit rush down the middle where some guy with four or five goals on the year picks a perfect spot to beat Jonathan Quick, scoring the first goal of the game. Red Wings 1. Kings 0.
The camera closes in on Willie Desjardins who looks lost behind the bench.
Kings don’t get their first shot of the game until seven minutes in.
A Kings player is hurt with an illegal hit in the previous game, but there’s no NHL Player Safety Hearing and we find out that the Kings general manager didn’t request even an explanation because he didn’t want to be ignored. (Huh?! Yes, this continues to be true.)
Kings take over the rest of the way in the first, eventually outshooting the opposition 10 to 3 from the 7:15 mark on, but enter the dressing room without scoring.
Kings open the second period with a flurry of chances but can’t get one in the back of the net.
Kings get another 2-on-1 break, but the opportunity is thwarted when a bouncing puck won’t settle down and it’s shot wide of the net.
Almost immediately after wasting a 2-on-1 breakaway, the Kings give up a goal on a weird broken play. Red Wings 2. Kings 0.
The camera closes in on Willie Desjardins who looks lost behind the bench
Kings, looking strong all period, if only they could get a bounce or two their way, look to try to sneak one in with a momentum breaker in the final minutes of play. But..
…a Kings defenseman makes an ill-advised pass in his own zone, cross ice, which immediately leads to a turnover that is put back into his own net. Red Wings 3. Kings 0.
Nick Alberga throws shade at Willie D. Why? Well, what else are you going to do down 3-0?
Kings pushing all third period leading to a “give me hope” goal by Anze Kopitar. Red Wings 3. Kings 1. So you’re saying there’s a chance?
Kings outshoot a team 19-4 in the third and 43-21 overall but can’t find a way to solve the opposing goalie. It’s a final: Red Wings 3. Kings 0.
Hundreds of #Lose4Hughes tweets flood The Twitter.
A couple of Kings pundits tell everyone they are dumb for hoping for the third coming of Wayne Gretzky.
All of the Kings players are frustrated.
Willie D. continues to look lost.
Have you heard all of this before?
Yeah, it’s Groundhog Day all over again.
NEXT: Kings play the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, 7:00 pm EDT.
GROUNDHOG DAY QUOTES:
DETROIT COACH JEFF BLASHILL:
“We weren’t good enough tonight. They outplayed us, and Jimmy gave us a chance to win the game.”
DYLAN LARKIN:
“It was a sloppy game, but we capitalized on our chances.”
JAKE MUZZIN:
“We had a lot of chances, but we also gave up too many. Sure, we could have scored a couple more goals, but so could they, and we don’t score enough to play that kind of hockey.”
ADRIAN KEMPE:
“We created a lot of chances and if we put a couple on the board there, I think we’d have a good chance of winning the game, so it’s just frustrating on that part.”
WILLIE DESJARDINS:
”We had a couple breakdowns and unfortunately, it ended up in the back of our net, but that happens sometimes. You play good games and you don’t get rewarded and there’s nothing you can do about that. You just have to keep going.”
ANZE KOPITAR:
“We got 43 shots and we had a lot of 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 rushes, but we only scored one goal. We can’t be satisfied by just creating chances, we need to start scoring.”
CONDENSED GAME: