- In my opinion, the play that was the “game changer” was the Alec Martinez shot off Oscar Moller’s nifty pass, which Roberto Luongo knocked down with his glove in the second period. That would have made it 2-0 Kings.
- Drew Doughty’s two “errors.” I don’t exactly — or at least entirely — blame Doughty for either one, and here’s why: that’s what you get for all this talk about stepping up. Everybody and his brother has been encouraging the leaders of this team to “step up” in the wake of the recent injuries. Pretty much everyone singles out Drew Doughty as prime stepper-upper candidate #1. Well, he stepped up. And by stepping up, he stepped right out of the system, nobody covered for him, and we got burned. Subtract one if not two points for the Kings. How does “stepping up” (good) differ from “trying to do too much” (bad)? Who knows. Actually, I know. The difference is, if you score, you’re stepping up. If you don’t, you’re trying to do too much. There is a balance, of course, but it requires the whole team to be on the same page, or else “stepping up” doesn’t help, and in fact, hurts.
- Those two goals last night illustrate how quickly the smallest misjudgment can lead directly to a loss.
- Didn’t Brad Richardson have a scoring chance in the third? I’m wondering if the zero shots thing is related to shot-counting homerism.
- Great goal by Kyle Clifford, great pass by Doughty, and even greater Clifford celebration. I sense a Clifford celebration compilation coming.
- I haven’t studied any replays, so don’t jump down my throat when I say that I didn’t think, watching it in real time, that Clifford’s hit deserved any penalty at all. The guy knew he was there, turned into the check, and ducked down so his head would get the brunt of it. Not intentially. He just wanted to slip under the check, I think. But too bad. That one is not Clifford’s fault. (Yes, yes, I know, they’re being extra careful these days — do it when the game isn’t on the line and the check isn’t marginal.)
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