Iginla bests Smashville in OT Kings Victory

The Kings have beaten Smashville twice already this season; looks like third time was a charm. The Kings came out strong, Jeff Carter getting tangled up with Pekke Rinne behind the net early on and generally getting some good chances. To the surprise of no one who follows either team Kyle Clifford and Cody McCloud threw down the gloves 2:02 into the contest, securing McCloud the league lead in fighting majors, a title he shared with Anaheim Duck Boll going into the game. The Kings responded by growing pucks at the net, several chances coming from the Iginla-Kopitar-Gaborik line, who finally seemed to be getting some chemistry going. It helped that Rinne plays the puck worse than Jonathan Quick does (and that’s saying something.) Dustin Brown was throwing some big hits and making some great plays in the neutral zone, but Tyler Toffoli was having trouble there, losing the puck more often than not. Gaborik, who began well, started sliding back into old habits, first by slashing (though of course we know the Kings have a stellar PK) then by losing the puck in the Kings defensive zone where the Kings quickly gave up a goal. I’m typical Kings fashion they had 9 shots on goal and no goals (dear Lord Kings either shoot straight or figure out how to rebound) while Smashville had 3 shots and a goal.

The second period was much slower, which doesn’t typically bode well for the Kings. The energy had dwindled, so Smashville kindly returned our number 12’s penalty by having their number 12 Mike Fisher head to the box 3:05 in, to get some blood flowing. (Not literally this time.) It looked like a typical Kings power play, allowing the other team to play the puck instead, until a Paul LaDue (who had been getting some good looks in the first) play allowed Gaborik to get the puck on net and Iginla to bury his rebound. Gaborik contributing. Power play goal. Iginla producing. Actually doing something with a rebound. Has Daryl Sutter been reading my wish list?? With the game tied Smashville did most of the work trying to regain the lead, setting the Kings on their heels for most of the period. Lots of after whistle scurmishes didn’t lead anywhere. Thankfully neither did any Smashville chances, thanks to Quick. A coincidental minor ended the second (Jake Muzzin for holding and Craig Smith for roughing) but no free McFlurry’s for the crowd.

Another Smashville goal began the third, of course, 1:31 into it to be exact, a rebound goal I’ve been begging the Kings to figure out how to score. Drew Doughty did everything he could to tie the game back up, including leading a 2-on-5 man rush, allowing the rest of the Kings the change they needed, and still take the shot. Doughty against 5 Predators – Doughty wins that match up. But the Kings would need another goal (or two) to win the game, so Smashville handed them another power play. It’s unusual for the Kings to score on one a game, so while the fans may not have had high hopes, the Kings sure did because Gaborik on the rebound gave them the goal they needed to tie the game. (Kopitar had a chance I’ve re-matched five times and still couldn’t figure out how he didn’t score on it.) On a side note – this is the Gaborik the Kings have been missing. Don’t know where he went but it’s nice to see him back. That line was on fire. Muzzin was not however, following up the goal by immediately taking a penalty the Kings killed off but barely. Some timely clears saved them but Smashville still got some nice pressure and Quick had to make some big saves. The Kings came back for the last 3-5 minutes of the game very strong, in eluding several Doughty chances in quick succession, the second of which could have easily been cleaned up on the rebound, but to overtime they went. It was nice to see Nic Dowd and Brown get some overtime minutes, but it was a third Smashville penalty that did it for the Kings. Three power plays, three Kings goals, all from the Gaborik-Iginla combination. Iginla got his first two goals with the Kings, his first game winning overtime goal, and suddenly that trade made sense. His blast on the power play was exactly what Lombardi was looking for. Two big points keep the Kings in contention for a playoff spot but they are still on the outside looking in.