Kings Can’t Clinch Their First Win Of The Season

It should have been an easy game. The Coyotes by all accounts weren’t going to do well this season. And the Kings were supposed to learn from the mistakes of opening night, clean up their game and clean up the Coyotes. That didn’t happen.

A mere two minutes into the opening frame Zbynek Michalek shot the puck from the right point and Jonathan Quick appeared to tip it into the back of the net. It certainly wasn’t the start the Kings were looking for. It was surprising; the lineup looked slightly better too – McNabb would be in, and Jordan Weal last years MVP in the AHL – would make his NHL debut. Not to be discouraged by such an early goal, the Kings proved to be a better team than opening night and didn’t let that deflate them. They had some decent zone entries, but the Arizona defense and goalie Mike Smith seemed to be impossible to get past. Their first power play didn’t bring any tangible results – in fact no power play in either game so far this season would lead to a goal. For most of the first period the play sped back and forth between both teams fairly evenly. Weal almost made his first NHL goal when he ended with the shot from a 3-on-1 zone entry, but no such luck. Kings were favored in shots on goal, and yet it was the Coyotes who ended up leading after the first 2-0. They scored on a Muzzin hooking penalty, Domi feeding a completely uncovered Ekman-Larsson.

 Things had the potential to pick up in the second when the Kings had a power play 46 seconds in, yet it was the Coyotes who scored next, 4:43 in over Quick’s left shoulder. At 6:36 they scored over his right shoulder. Both came from bad turnovers in the neutral zone, an area they had considerable problems with Wednesday night. Another power play at 7:11 could have begun to turn the game, but a very loud clink from the puck hitting the post made it seem like the Kings couldn’t even buy a goal. They seemed to be losing their composure, getting into tiny scuffles, and a few major ones. At 12:17 former King Brad Richardson got into it with Jordan Nolan, with a few other players pitching in for good measure. Richardson got a minor, Nolan a double minor. Lewis skated around a potential shortie but never quite managed to get the shot off. Never fear Kings fans, for the next penalty kill ended up being the best play of the evening for the Kings. Jeff Carter, with his signature burst of speed, out skated and skated around two Coyotes, streaked down the ice and snapped off a shot that goalie Mike Smith fell over to stop, doing that scorpion kick move we’ve seen Quick do when he’s on his game. It was a stellar save, but it did leave the net half empty for Tyler Toffoli – who led the league last season with 5 shorthanded goals – to snap in his first of this season.

Going into the third then the Kings were poised to make a comeback. They’d outshot the Coyotes 27-14 so far – surely one of the next shots had to go in, right? They had a power play 45 seconds in, but could only get one shot off. They just couldn’t get any traction the whole period. The highlight of the third was Chris Sutter on the dance cam. Yes, the boy is always a star, but off ice activity should never outshine what’s going on the ice. Quick’s greatest save was a shot that wasn’t even going into the net. Too many neutral zone turnovers, a lot of missed coverage by the defense, some easy shots let in by Quick and the lack of composure proved to be their downfall, yet again. It was a better game than the opener, but the Kings don’t have their footing or chemistry. Yet. It’s only October, after all.