The Kings found themselves frustrated by the Wild once again, struggling to get any true, high danger shots on net, something that the Wild have become a bit of a specialist at preventing. They excel at preventing the kinds of up-close opportunities that create goals in today’s NHL; most of the Kings’ shots came from back at the blue line, hoping for a tip in or redirect that just wasn’t coming.
Of course, there are things bigger than hockey, and we’d be remiss not to reiterate the efforts the Kings are participating in to honor and assist the Thousand Oaks community. In addition to financial relief, including donations from the 50-50 raffle, with Kings players matching the donation, the Kings are encouraging fans to give blood. Locally, donations can be made through the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, although Kings fans everywhere are encouraged to give in honor of Thousand Oaks.
Financial donations can be made to the Ventura County Community Foundation.
Kings Things
Zach Parise tallied his 700th NHL point and Nino Niederreiter got his first of the season as the Kings struggled to put quality shots on net. [Jewels from the Crown]
Luc Robitaille speaks about the Thousand Oaks tragedy. [LA Kings]
Last year, the Kings lost employee Chrissy Duarte in the Las Vegas shooting. This year, a shooting in Thousand Oaks. On how the Kings created their powerful opening to last night’s game. [The Athletic]
It’s not the first time this year the Wild have come back after allowing their opponent to score first. [Hockey Wilderness]
John Stevens issued a statement thanking the Kings organization and fans. [NHL]
Cal Petersen is developing into a goaltender with NHL potential. [The Athletic]
Elsewhere in the World
60 years after Willie O’Ree made his NHL debut, players of color still deal with racism on and off the ice. [AP]
Willie O’Ree’s post-playing career has been built around making hockey a sport for everyone. [Pension Plan Puppets]
It’s never too early to start looking at top draft prospects, right? [The Score]
Speaking of top prospects:
Jack Hughes at the U18 Five Nations in the Czech Republic through three games:
vs. Sweden: 2 goals, 2 assists (8-2 W)
vs. Czech Rep.: 3 goals, 2 assists (5-2 W)
vs. Switzerland: 1 goal, 5 assists (8-1 W)Season total: 35 points in 17 games (2.05 points/game). Mercy.
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) November 9, 2018
The San Diego Gulls are having some of the same troubling problems that the parent club is. [Anaheim Calling]
The Minnesota Whitecaps are the most terrifying team in the NWHL right now, and rookie Katie McGovern has been a big part of that. [The Ice Garden]
The Blackhawks may have lost their first game under new head coach Jeremy Colliton, but the team is already learning how to play for him. [Sporting News]
Aside from a handful of charity or Legends games, few goalies continue to play the position regularly after retirement. Why’s that? [NHL]
The Pittsburgh Penguins are struggling to start the season, currently stuck in a five-game losing streak. [PensBurgh]
Martin St. Louis believes that his difficult road to the NHL is what propelled him to his Hall of Fame career. [NHL]
Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist: perhaps the last of the franchise goalies. [The Athletic]
Your Evening Entertainment
Quick, who’s the NHL’s top scorer?
Got your answer?
Surprise — it’s Mikko Rantanen, right wing for the Colorado Avalanche. He’s got 24 points in 15 games, one more point than Connor McDavid. Rantanen is in his third full year in the NHL and put up a healthy 84 points in 81 games last season playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon. He looks poised to have another fantastic season this year, too.
You can watch him (and the rest of the Avalanche) take on the Winnipeg Jets tonight at 5:00 PM Pacific in the free streaming game on NHL.com.