“GOALS PLEASE” – Jewels from the Crown Game Preview, 4:30 PM
Okay, so I should have been more specific. But really, the concerns coming in for the Kings were…
– The Kings weren’t scoring goals
– The top line needed help
– The power play was brutal
Tonight, the Kings scored four goals in the first two periods, Dustin Brown had two goals on the power play, Justin Williams had one, and Anze Kopitar anchored a solid game for the top line. So what on earth happened? Well, the Kings picked up a few new concerns tonight…
– The Kings’ goalies didn’t stop any shots
– Our young defensemen needed help
– The penalty kill was brutal
A summary of eleven goals in less than 400 words:
- Nick Bonino gets around a scrambling Jake Muzzin and a flailing Jonathan Quick, tucking the puck home while sliding on his knees. Emerson Etem gets an assist, his first NHL point.
- Nick Bonino chases Quick with his second goal, wrapping around the net and sliding a rather weak shot through Quick and Rob Scuderi. In comes Jonathan Bernier for his first action of the season.
- Dustin Brown scores on the best-looking power play of the Kings’ season. Good puck movement leads to Anze Kopitar threading a pass cross-ice to Brown, who shoots into a wide-open net.
- Jarret Stoll ties the game 34 seconds later. Simon Gagne hits the post with a seemingly open net, but just after Slava Voynov finds Stoll near the top of the circle, and he beats Hiller five-hole.
- Ryan Getzlaf helps Anaheim regain the lead, as Corey Perry brings the puck around the back of the net and gives Getzlaf a blind, spinning, backhand pass to convert. After one: 3-2 Ducks.
- Dustin Brown scores on the power play again. Drew Doughty’s shot is saved by the pad of Hiller, but Brown slams home the rebound right in front.
- Sheldon Souray then gets an unassisted PP goal, as his hard slapshot squirms through the gap between Bernier’s arm and chest.
- Justin Williams scores the Kings’ final equalizer, as his bad-angle backhand attempt tips Hiller’s shoulder on its way in.
- Kyle Palmieri gets another PP goal two minutes later on the Ducks’ own beautiful passing play. Koivu feeds Palmieri in the slot and he beats Bernier with a pinpoint shot. After 2: 5-4 Ducks.
- Nick Bonino scores the Ducks’ third PP goal in three tries and completes the hat trick, converting his own rebound past Bernier.
- Teemu Selanne scores an empty-netter. Final: 7-4 Ducks.
In addition: Jarret Stoll injured Cam Fowler with an ugly hit in the second period, as he appeared to shove Fowler’s head into the dasher. So on top of that, we might be short a player in the near future.
Positives, besides the scoring? Davis Drewiske took a puck to the face and returned almost immediately. And the Kings fans turned out to the Pond in large numbers, drowning out the locals at various points in the first two periods.
Other than that? Not great. Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin, and the defensemen allowed the Ducks to get in our goalies’ faces. Quick and Bernier couldn’t make big stops; we won the scoring chance battle but (obviously) stopped fewer than they did. And their power play fired at will; they went 3-4, and the fourth power play ended with Teemu hitting the crossbar. We can sum it up in a lot of ways, but a postgame Dustin Brown quote will bring it home:
“We got our asses kicked tonight.”