Kings Collapse Against Senators

By Emily Redenbach
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Updated: January 17, 2016

It seems the Kings afternoon games curse is back. The morning began with much better news: the official announcement that Anze Kopitar’s contract has been signed (finally!), securing the center’s future with

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 16: Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings skates with the puck in warm-ups prior to the game against the Ottawa Senators on January 16, 2016 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NHLI via Getty Images)

the Kings for another 8 years! (The first four have a no-movement clause and the second four have some no-trade protection, which seemed to be the hold up.) He skated out on the ice to rapturous applause but in true Kopitar style seemed completely unfazed that next season he will be the highest paid center in the league (while the AVV is $10 million, he makes $14 million next year and has two $9 million signing bonuses.)

Within 2:26 the Kings found themselves on the wrong side of a penalty; Brayden McNabb for holding. It should have been a sign. While the Kings killed the penalty with relative ease, so did the Senators when Jeff Carter drew a penalty on Kyle Turris later in the first. Jonathan Quick furthered his case for being a Jedi Knight when the Senators thought they scored but he somehow managed to wedge the puck in between the post and his skate on the goal line. Not over, concurred the refs. The whole first period was relatively even, until 18:37 when the Kings pulled ahead with a Jeff Carter goal. The Senators were on a delayed penalty, allowing an extra attacker on the ice for the Kings. They never actually sent someone to the box. Before a Senator could touch the puck Muzzin slapped the puck across the ice to Tyler Toffoli who fanned on a shot but somehow ended up sending it straight to an open Jeff Carter instead, who shot it at a sharp angle technically into the Senators goalie Craig Anderson’s back shoulder, who deflected it into the back of the net. It was Carter’s 100th goal in a Kings uniform. Congrats!

Things got lucky for the Kings early in the second, when Quick overextended himself to his right and the puck scuffled out to an open Senator on his left, but the player didn’t have a handle on his stick and tried to throw the puck into the net. The play was whistled dead. Their next power play (drawn by Dustin Brown at 6:33) also resulted in a goal – Vincent Lecavalier’s first as a King! Christian Erhoff sped down the ice but lost control at the front of the net, having to do a spin-o-rama move to keep the puck in control, but the lack of allowed Jeff Carter to get the whiffling puck to an open Lecavalier at the right circle. The whole team seemed so confused as to Erhoff’s play they weren’t set to defend Lecavalier and the puck found it’s way to the back of the net. 2-0 Kings, halfway through the second. What could go wrong?

A Senators goal came quickly after the Kings second, with a play similar to the aforementioned overextended Quick, only this time the Senators player had control of his stick and finished the play. Carter got smacked in the face but the refs didn’t call anything. (Not the face, scream all the females in the audience!) Tyler Toffoli had a chance to make it 3-1 when he was interfered with on a (stunning) breakaway, but his penalty shot didn’t go. The Kings ended the period with some seriously sustained zone time (so much so that the Kings completed a full line change and then some without the puck leaving the Senators zone, credit the Lucic-Kopitar-Toffoli line for making that happen), though it was cut short with a Jordan Nolan penalty for interference. The period was all Kings: 18 shots on goal to the Senators 5 (their first shot on goal was their first goal.)

The third period was all Senators, and it was the Kings undoing. Riddled with defensive mistakes (the Senators second goal this period at 8:34 was technically uncredited but should have credited Jake Muzzin, who mishandled the puck right in the crease trying to skate it out and instead gave it straight to Jean-Gabriel Pageau), the Kings couldn’t capitalize on a two goal lead. Their ‘insurance goal’ came at 3:05 from Tyler Toffoli, who buried a sick cross ice pass from Milan Lucic. At 8:08 that insurance goal became the go ahead goal. At 8:34 it became the goal keeping them in the game. Then, at 10:34, Nick Shore was called for high sticking. 4 minutes. The Senators scored with 1:26 remaining in the penalty and for the rest of the period the Kings couldn’t equalize. They could barely get the puck out of their defensive zone. Quick tried to leave the ice three or four times for the extra attacker but defensive mistakes prevented that from happening until under a minute remaining. The empty net at 19:46 sealed their fate. For the first time in franchise history the Senators swept the series. Darryl Sutter wasn’t happy with his player’s performance; they have a little more than 24 hours to regroup before the 6pm game against the Ducks at the Honda Center.

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