Campbell Solid But Kings Can’t Score on Carolina

Since Justin Williams doesn’t play for the Hurricanes any more, I don’t have to like them anymore, right? Especially after they shut the Kings down quite easily, seemingly without breaking a sweat. Those high scoring games I was enjoying this season seemed a distant memory, as the Kings struggled to get any decent shots through to Mrazek, and when they did he had an answer for everyone. Le sigh.

Jack Campbell was in net for the Kings and he was stellar. The puck was by him for the first 90 seconds but no shots got through. Then 1:42 in the Hurricanes took a penalty, setting up the Kings for the first 8 shots on goal within 5 minutes. It wasn’t the best power play, to be honest, but it was the beginning of a story we thought we’d seen before. Plenty of zone time, dominating the puck, clean slick passes – it would just be a matter of time. A second power play should have been it, but alas the Kings power play this game was lackluster at best, and concerning at worst. They couldn’t get the best rhythm, but at least the first period they did spend some time by Mrazik. They kept up the tenacity, outshooting the Canes 15-5 before they were tested with their first penalty kill. It went well; Campbell wasn’t busy during the first period but he was good when he was called upon. How comforting to see a solid goaltender! Another (albeit weak) penalty on Martinez with 3 minutes to go gave me pause – closing out a period has been an issue. With the number of shots and the quality of the Kings play leaving the first with no score was also concerning; little did I realize how much.

The second was blah. The Kings had three shots on goal. And one of those was clear from a penalty kill that only counted because Mrazik played it. They went from being all over the puck to chasing it all over the ice and never finding it.  And of course 4:16 in Carolina scored. A breakdown in defense left Necas unguarded and he wristed it over Campbell’s shoulder. A few more penalties didn’t help – they were weak calls and the refs missed quite a few pretty blatant non-calls against the Canes – but none the less the King’s shooting problems were their own. Halfway through they didn’t have any shots. None. They weren’t even hitting much, so you couldn’t say ‘well at least they were doing something.’ When they did get a power play it lasted 1:03 before Doughty went after a guy who didn’t have the puck any more right in front of the ref. Not like they were doing anything on their power play anyways. So they chased some more and relied on Campbell to keep them in the game.

The third wasn’t any better. The Kings couldn’t get any chemistry together. Tyler Toffoli was useless, and for someone who seemed so promising his rookie season, I for one was thoroughly disappointed. Adrien Kempe didn’t play most of the third after he got hit in the mouth and required stitches, though he didn’t play much before that because according to McLellan ‘quite frankly he’s got to be way more productive than he’s been.’ Walker continued to impress, but he was one of only a few. Michael Amadio too, his speed and tenacity are refreshing. Blake Lizotte has a lot of potentials, and as always Brown-Kopitar-Iafallo had potential. But the rest of the team were sluggish, out of sync, and just kinda sad. Their power play left a LOT to be desired, especially with 3:21 to go when they should be in clutch time. During the last two minutes when Campbell was pulled, Doughty took a tough hit into the boards that left him down for a good minute or two and sent him directly down the tunnel when he could stand. But even with that stimulus, two extra men with Campbell still pulled and Carolina taking 2 minutes for boarding, the Kings couldn’t get their chemistry going. Instead, the empty net goal sold it for the Hurricanes. Campbell deserved better.