Kings Come Alive in Third Period and Claim 3-0 Win
- Updated: January 27, 2017
It took 55 minutes to get there, but it was worth it.
With 4:43 to go in the third period, the Los Angeles Kings lit it up, breaking a scoreless tie, scoring three goals within 2 minutes and 19 seconds, and ultimately beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 Thursday at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. The 24-21-4 Kings, which went 2-2 on the current road trip, go into the NHL All-Star break with 52 points, in fifth place in the Pacific Division, and yup one point out of the playoff picture behind Calgary and St. Louis. The LA team next plays the Arizona Coyotes at 6 p.m., Tuesday, January 31, at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
But this game? There is something to celebrate. Let’s take a moment shall we? The team will take the win, but it wasn’t easy. Ask the one in the net for the Kings, easily the star of the game: Peter Budaj. Blocking all 22 shots, some of them with the help of the post and the hockey gods, Budaj registered his fifth shutout of the season, second best in the NHL.
In the first period, no scoring, as evidenced by the Kings one and only power play, an anemic display of non-offense. Later, a long outlet pass by Derek Forbort gave captain Anze Kopitar a breakaway that resulted in an errant shot over the net.
In the second period, no scoring, though Jordan Nolan had a mini-breakaway turned away by Cam Ward, who saved 26 of 28 shots on the night. Much of the action took place in the Kings’ defensive zone, where there were just enough front-of-the-net flurries to get a heart rate up. A 2-on-1 outnumbered attack ended with Budaj’s patented use of blocker and goalpost to stymie the opponent. Be still our collective beating heart.
In the third period, no scoring … until … it got good. Really good. Outshooting the Hurricane, 12-6 in the last period, the Kings got on the scoreboard at 15:17, and it was a thing of beauty. Even announcer Jimmy Fox saw it coming. The “it” was Drew Doughty as he was intensely skating towards the offensive zone. Kopitar banked a pass off the boards where Doughty picked up the puck, entered the zone on a 2 on 1 and sent a pass over to Marian Gaborik who made a move and slid the puck into the net.
Only 38 seconds later, Devin Setoguchi slammed a shot off of Ward, and Trevor Lewis pounced on the puck left alone in front of the net. An empty netter by Kyle Clifford sealed the deal, and now we’re on to the All-Star break.
Says coach Darryl Sutter about the break: “I’m going to enjoy cheering Drew and Jeff on.”
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!
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