The Los Angeles Kings are now five points out of a playoff spot. Rank them all after tonight’s 3-1 loss:
As the broadcast was all too happy to mention after the game, LA attempted 86 shots to the St. Louis Blues’ 48. Jake Allen was excellent, as you surely guessed by his 38-of-39 stat line, and the Kings once again failed to score a goal at 5-on-5. Dustin Brown scored with the goalie pulled around the three-minute mark; yes, Darryl Sutter pulled the goalie with three minutes left, in case you didn’t know how desperate LA was to win this.
At that point, though, LA had already given up on the best-case scenario: a regulation win. And it was probably never going to happen against the stingy Blues after the Kings yet again allowed the first goal. If we end up having to write an autopsy of the Kings’ 2016-17 season, there’s a good chance that LA allowing the first goal eleven times in thirteen games since the bye will be Chapter 1.
More to come in our recap. Back at it tomorrow!