Kings, California Bids Farewell to the Islanders

(featured photo : taiwannews.com.tw)

Coming into this game the Islanders had a 17 game point streak snapped by the Ducks (they were 15-0-2), so they were out for revenge against Southern California. And the Kings has just lost to the Sharks in OT, unable to close out their third period 3-goal comeback. I had low expectations. I expected they’d be the only Californian team to be unable to find success, (the Sharks were one of their two overtime losses). I love being surprised.

The Kings started pretty solidly, getting 3 shots off to the Islanders 1 in the first 3 minutes, before Anze Kopitar took a hooking penalty. He’s been a little more aggressive lately, taking bigger hits and showing less of that Lady Byng quality. The penalty kill could have been better, but it could have been worse too. Tyler Toffoli had a stunning shorthanded breakaway early in that I wanted to slap him for not concerting, but sadly that’s par for the course for him lately and likely why his name is part of trade rumors. The next 4 to 5 minutes were played without a whistle and mostly in the Islanders offensive zone, though the Adrian Kempe – Blake Lizotte – Austin Wagner line continued to impress with some good chances on their shift. The Islanders goal wasn’t pretty. At 8:42 in, Jonathan Quick lost the puck, but Derek Brassard found it dribbling behind Quick and made sure it crossed the goal line. Dustin Brown followed up with a goal of his own 1:04 later, a spectacular shot from a ridiculous angle Semyon Varlomov had no chance of saving. (Have I mentioned lately how much I like Brown?) As the period dragged on, Kopitar drew a hooking penalty to make up for his, though I would have preferred he be able to take that shot because the resulting power play was pathetic at best, confusing certainly. As it ended another began, but with only 1:25 remaining in the period it got even less action than the previous.

As usual, the Kings were outshooting their opponents by a wide margin but not getting anywhere. It felt like the force was against them, and it was so much more fun when we just used the force to keep pucks out of our net! The strange thing was, the Kings were also getting outhit. Pretty badly. 17-5 early in the second, which is unlike the Kings to be able to stand up and hit back. (Legally of course.) And especially with Kurtis MacDermid in the lineup. Things looked a little concerning as the Islanders crept back with their shots on goal, and Quick was lunging a little far out of his crease for my comfort. Brown took a penalty with just over 9 minutes to go, though thankfully the Kings penalty kill was better than their power play. And they had the opportunity to be much better at the power play again as things got chippy and more than a little feisty. While I was sure there’d be a shorthanded goal after a few chances, the Kings had other plans. Lizotte, who earned the first star of the evening but not an assist on this goal, gained the zone quite expertly to set up Mike Amadio’s blast, tipped past Varlomov by Jeff Carter, giving the Kings a 2-1 lead at 16:17.

The Kings have only been ahead going into the third period five other times this season. They won all five of those games. So why break tradition? 4:35 in Walker took a holding penalty, but 1:08 into that Josh Bailey went for high-sticking Carter. Then at 8:40 both Carter and Mathew Barzal went, Carter for slashing and Barzal for embellishment. The Isles bench wasn’t too happy with that, but the Kings got the last laugh. Again the set up was Lizotte, who’s stick handling was a thing of beauty, and finished by Matt Roy’s rocket of a slapshot. That seemed to be it for the Isles, though they didn’t give up. They pulled their goalie early, with 3 minutes to go, and thanked their lucky stars when Kopitar missed the empty net. With 2:07 remaining, however, Alex Iafallo didn’t. His line, (with Brown and Kopitar,) was again the second best on the ice all night, because Lizotte (and his line) was undoubtedly the tops.