Kings Get 5th OT Win Of The Season
- Updated: November 4, 2016
205:25 is a long time to be scoreless when it’s not a playoff game and you’ve gone into double overtime. Yet, that’s exactly how long it took for anyone on the Kings to score a goal, dating back to their overtime win against Nashville four games ago. The Kings found themselves against the reigning Stanley Cup Champs the Pittsburg Penguins (who lets face it actually were the better choice last season.) The team hasn’t changed that much since their win. They were coming off a 5-1 win against the Ducks yesterday but showed no signs of fatigue, which they proved by Sidney Crosby burying a Patrick Hornqvist rebound 7:48 into the first period. It was inevitable really; you can’t give a player like Crosby that much space and expect him not to score. A Kings power play followed, yet the penalty kill that came right after seemed to generate more chances. Dustin Brown was having a good night and created a play that could have led to a shorthanded goal, in fact several chances from those on the ice at the time could have led to goals if the Kings could get a shot on net. The first period ended with the Kings down by 1 and still goalless.
Finally, 5:25 into the second period, the drought ended, thanks to Trevor Lewis. Yes, that Trevor Lewis, the player voted most underrated by his teammates. Kyle Clifford took the initial shot, which was fumbled by Marc-Andre Fleury, and shoved in by Lewis who just refused to quit on the play. If the on ice celebration was any indication the team was just as exited by the goal as the fans. Shortly after Tyler Toffoli was high sticked by his own teammate, Anze Kopitar drew a penalty for high sticking. Of course it was immediately followed by Drew Doughty’s second penalty of the evening; this one was just as blatant as the first (truthfully it was not Drew’s finest evening.) Peter Budaj received a standing ovation for his work on the resulting penalty kill, which was spectacular but only needed because the Kings just could not clear the puck to save their lives.
Which brings us to the third period, where the Kings actually lead the game (for a few minutes anyway.) 2:14 into it, Matt Greene blasted a shot that just hit perfectly past Fleury. They followed it up with three grade A chances then forgot to play hockey for a few minutes. The Penguins shot count went from 12 to 18 in the space of a few minutes, so Crosby capitalizing half way through the period was not a surprise. 41 seconds later Matt Greene went into the penalty box and almost hurt all the good will he’d garnered from his goal. Thankfully the Kings held on and even had another power play of their own when Matt Cullen tried to take Kopitar’s stick from him. You can’t do that. Still, it took the Kings into overtime to complete the task. Another Kopitar drawn penalty with 6:9 seconds remaining in regulation meant the Kings were 4-on-3 to begin OT, and while they got many, many chances none got through on the power play. Nic Dowd proved his worth by making the play of the evening; a face-off near Fleury ended up in the neutral zone where two Penguins were closest but Dowd hustled like a boss to get his stick on it and knock it out to Alec Martinez. His play ended up behind the net and to Tanner Pearson, who found Dowd open in the slot. He dangled the puck infant of Fleury, faked a shot that would have done underneath Fleury’s legs, forcing the goaltender sprawling down on the ice. With the gap that now existed between Fleury’s skate and the net, Dowd put the puck in between and won the game.
The win marked Daryl Sutter’s 600th game as a NHL head coach. It also marked the 17th game since the Kings have won in regulation. They play again at home Saturday against the Calgary Flames.
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