Kings Shutout With Their Third Loss Of The Season

At one time a shutout at Staples Center meant the LA Kings were on another winning streak. Alas, tonight it meant the Kings had lost their first three games of the season, with only two goals to their name. Total. It certainly wasn’t the start they were looking for or expecting.

It began with a fight from Andreoff which wasn’t completely unexpected. It’d be hard to classify it as a fight; it was more two guys skating around in circles holding each others jerseys, but both got five for fighting. It was clear from the beginning the Kings needed cleaner passes if they were going to set up any plays that could lead to something. About halfway through McNabb got off one nice shot but with no one there at the net to rebound that was all it was. It seemed the Kings were sluggish. Lewis, Toffoli and Brown were hustling; one player on every line does not a good team make.

The second was a slew of penalties. Greene went in for slashing at 2:57. Of course they scored once the penalty was over – Erhoff needed better coverage of his man as Cracknell pounded in Prust’s shot. Moments later Greene went back into the box for holding; 40 seconds later McNabb joined him for 1:20 of 3 on 5. Jonathan Quick earned his third star of the evening, stopping quite spectacularly each shot aimed at him. Defense was much better actually clearing the puck three times giving a much needed breather. It was quality penalty killing, but it seemed that’s all the Kings were doing this period. Clifford was off for two minutes for interference with 4:15 left – the Kings racked up a whole 4 shots on goal that period to the Canucks 13. The Canucks scored on two of those – the second rung off the post and back into the net.

The third period seemed to be the opposite – three power plays, the first two within seconds of each other. Nothing materialized. It was 20 minutes of nothing connecting. Sutter even pulled Quick with 3:17 to go, yet the consequence was an empty netter for Vancouver instead. To be sure, it was nice to see Quick making some spectacular saves again – hell, making even the regular saves we need him to. Mostly. But the Kings will need a much stronger defense and better chemistry from their forward lines if they’re going to make it through this season. It’s usual to see them slow to start; down three games with only two goals to their name is a bigger slump than they’re used to, particularly against three divisional teams, none of which made the playoffs last season. They look to come back Friday night at Staples Center against Minnesota.