I regret to inform everyone that I’m sitting right where the goal horn is so I’m going to need the Kings defense to actually work tonight.
— sarah. (@goorgoahead) October 26, 2018
The Kings did not hear your intrepid Midwest Correspondent’s pleas, alas. The two empty net goals were just the icing on the very loud cake.
Is there an end in sight for all of this losing? The Kings are slated to get Dustin Brown back on Saturday Sunday, which will help in terms of things like “another leader to say words” and “maybe tipping shots in on the power play” but won’t help with things like “my goodness can anyone on this team actually connect a pass”.
The Kings will be taking on the New York Rangers in that game, a team that has been struggling through its own actual admitted rebuild. They put forth a terrible effort in Chicago yesterday and have been downright bad on the road. The Rangers have three wins on the season, two of which came after the end of regulation time. Is a rematch of the 2014 Stanley Cup what the Kings need to finally get another win?
Kings Things
Post-game reactions from John Stevens, Anze Kopitar, Jack Campbell, and Ilya Kovalchuk. [Kings Insider]
Jack Campbell put the Kings in a position to succeed but even that wasn’t enough. [Los Angeles Times]
Get your game charts. [HockeyViz]
Another impressive offensive display from Los Angeles.
All game charts: https://t.co/88TnZOmKzu pic.twitter.com/OpIlJrCQOb
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) October 26, 2018
The Kings were once again outworked by bottom six players for the Wild. [StarTribune]
Thanks to the weirdness of AHL schedules, the Ontario Reign will play one game over an 11-day span. [Reign Insider]
Goalie prospect Matt Villalta kept the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the game when they were massively outshot during the first two periods, eventually recording a 27-save win over Windsor. [OHL]
Out of nowhere comes the paddle 🚫@LAKings prospect @MattVillalta31 takes away the wide open cage with this #BestOfOHL effort in @OHLHoundPower triumph. pic.twitter.com/iti3pxuHDb
— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) October 26, 2018
And goalie prospect David Hrenak stopped all 32 shots as St. Cloud shut out Boston College on the road. [St. Cloud]
Elsewhere in the World
This story may be “scary”, but is it scarier than the Kings’ power play? [SBNation]
The Blackhawks … might be good? Or at least fun? [Second City Hockey]
The Kings aren’t the only ones getting labeled as embarrassing — the Blues are struggling too. [St. Louis Game Time]
Same with the Ducks, who are wasting great performances from goalie John Gibson. [The Athletic]
And the Flames, who lost 9-1 yesterday. [Calgary Sun]
Nicole Hensley and Shannon Szabados are both Olympic-medal-winning elite goaltenders, and now they’re sharing the net for the Buffalo Beauts. [The Buffalo News]
What to do when your in-arena giveaway revolves around a hat trick that probably isn’t coming any time soon? [ESPN]
Your Evening Entertainment
Only four games on the docket tonight. We recommend tuning into the San Jose Sharks/Carolina Hurricanes game, where you can see some familiar faces square off. Justin Williams scoring on Martin Jones would just be the icing on the cake to end this very long week. The game starts at 4:30 PM Pacific and can be streamed on NHL.com.