Baseball fans like to say that every time you go to a game, there’s a chance you’ll see something that you’ve never seen before. There is definitely joy in going to a regular season game and being surprised by a moment that has only happened a few times in the history of the league. Apparently it holds true in hockey, too. Yesterday, I got to see one of the most-hyped players in the NHL take his first career penalty shot… and then his second. Those two chances meant that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews was just the fourth player in NHL history to attempt two penalty shots in one game. Thankfully, Jonathan Quick got the smallest piece of #2 to help the Los Angeles Kings hold on, to the disgust of Leafs fans tired of Quick’s crease antics. Turns out putting forth a perfect first 60% of the game helps a lot.
This is also the best 13-game start in Kings history, too. That’s if you’re looking for something that literally no one has ever seen before.
HIGHLIGHTS TO WATCH
KINGS WATCH
- The NHL website is working overtime on “Whoa, the Kings are good!” takes, but there’s a particularly good point in this one. LA’s shot attempt differential is almost exactly 50% at this point, but they’ve primarily been outshot only when games are out of reach. LA is fourth in the NHL in Corsi For% with the score tied, and sixth in “Close” situations, referring to when they are tied or within a goal of the other team. That all held true yesterday. [NHL.com]
- Coming back to the Kings was an easy choice for Mike Cammalleri, who now has seven points in eleven games with the team. [NHLPA]
- Jeff Carter has a scooter. I will pay for a picture of Jeff Carter on a scooter./
Also from last night … can confirm that Jeff Carter was using a wheeled scooter, his bandaged foot elevated, to get around.
— Curtis Zupke (@curtiszupke) November 3, 2017
WORLD WATCH
- The Toronto recap: “UGH.” [Pension Plan Puppets]
- The Kings are now alone in first in the West, because the Blues lost a classic trap game at home against Philadelphia. [St. Louis Game Time]
- Want to hear 2017 second-rounder Jaret Anderson-Dolan talk about his camp experience? You can! [WHL]/
GAME TO WATCH
Only two games on the radar tonight, with the Devils (who I thought would be 3-7-1 and not 9-2-0) taking on the Oilers (who I thought would be 9-2-0 and not 3-7-1) while Nashville visits Anaheim. Watch them both!