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Recap: Leaving Canada a jolly good fellow

Posted on by Julius Choi

You can get food, use the restroom and return to your seats within 40 minutes and it is still the same inning at a baseball game. In hockey, a lot of of things can happen within a blink of an eye and we were witnesses of that at Bell Centre.

The Los Angeles Kings come up empty on their Canadian road trip, as they were dealt their third straight loss in a 3-2 decision to the Montreal Canadians on Saturday.

If a three-year reign from 2015-17 as the top dog in the hardest shot competition wasn’t a big enough warning, the Los Angeles Kings were shook off its bearings with a showcase of this particular skill from one Shea Weber.

Weber gave the Canadiens their first lead of the game on a power play in the midway point of the first period.

The 34-year-old British Columbia native’s initial shot made LA’s Matt Roy take a knee that surely had UFC fighter Henry Cejudo crack a smile before a midair whack potted Weber his fourth goal of the season.

Just 15 seconds later, the Kings found themselves in a deeper hole when Montreal’s fourth line converted after Adrian Kempe lost track of his defensive assignment.

The beneficiary? Former King Nate Thompson for his first goal of the season after going scoreless on 20 shots while playing all 17 games for the Montreal hockey club. Now that stings.

Artturi Lehkonen threaded a tape-to-tape pass from the goal line on the right of Jonathan Quick to find Thompson on the weak side.

After failing to record a tally in 12 opportunities with the man advantage in the last five games, Montreal awoke from its slumber like Smaug breathing fire after rising from a pile of gold from “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug“ and scored two power play goals as a result. Both from the twig of Weber.

What a way to put a damper on a Kings’ penalty kill unit that was six-for-six in their last two games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.

While the Los Angeles Kings were not able to come back from a three-goal deficit, they did make it interesting. Getting shutout is not an option when riding the coattails of Captain Anze Kopitar.

Kopitar allowed the power play to continue revving by keeping the puck in the zone while momentarily eliminating him for the offensive equation.

He gained reentry and was rewarded when Alex Iafallo found the Slovenian in the slot.

The net minding narrative on both ends was intriguing. Although Carey Price is far from the 2014-15 version of himself that captured the Vezina and Hart Trophy due to a slew of injuries, he has been the focal point of where the Canadiens find themselves right now in the standings.

Price was fifth in the league in shots faced (409) coming into tonight’s game and the Kings proceeded to pepper 33 more shots on him. Which he stopped 31 of them.

Quick, meanwhile, allowed three goals on 37 shots and had flashes of brilliance with a signature save that kept the game close til the final buzzer sounded.

In game No. 18 of his professional career, Blake Lizotte finally scored his first NHL goal. Got to think Lizotte watched Herb Brooks’ “Great moments are born from great opportunity“ speech a dozen times leading up to this.

It was a nice moment for Lizotte as he’s battled through a lot of adversity and hardship  despite being just 21 years of age.

In the midst of spending five days north of the border, the Kings will return to Los Angeles for a three-game home swing that begins on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild.

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