Kings Power Play Hat Trick Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive

In a playoff race this tight, and with only five games remaining after this one, every point counts. (Really, if you want to feel ill, look at the standings, I dare you. Otherwise stay ignorant my friends.) As of right now, the Kings are in the playoff race, and technically their destiny is in their own hands. And thanks to the Kings, the Flames are officially out of contention. As for anything else, well it’s one game at a time.

I’m sure the Flames chances weren’t that good, but since I’ve lost all confidence in the Kings before the first goal is scored because it’s almost always against them, their start out of the gate was concerning. They easily went up 3 shots to 1 in the first two minutes and Quick looked just a little shaky. The Pearson-Kempe-Lewis line restored some of my confidence after a very solid extended shift in the offensive zone. A few shifts later Pearson drew a boarding penalty which didn’t totally suck, showed some good movement but it was quickly becoming apparent this game had the potential to suck quite badly. The Kings were outshooting the Flames 7-3 by the 7-minute mark. Anze Kopitar handed Jeff Carter a pass so sweet it was like cotton candy as he stood alone by the net yet Carter couldn’t score. All the moment, all the shots, nothing to show for it. I was just waiting for the mistake that would cost them all that. (Like Jonathan Quick playing the puck and losing it? Please stop doing that Quick. Thankfully Mike Smith did too a few shifts later – neither opponent capitalized on the goalies mistake though.) By the end of the first period, the Flames had almost caught up in shots: 8-7, but both teams ended with nothing to show for it. If anything the Flames ‘won’ the period as they outhit the Kings 15-6, all other stats being relatively even.

Thankfully, in the ways that count, the Kings won the second period. It took a few minutes to get in sync, but when a power play opportunity presented itself 3:59 in, it took literally 5 seconds for Adrian Kempe to win the faceoff, snap the puck back to Dion Phaneuf, and for him to slap it all the way Into the back of the net. Hooray for not giving up the first goal! And hooray for capitalizing on a power play! It set the tone for the period, where the Kings dominated play for most of the time, and the Flames responded by trying to smash them into oblivion. By the end of the second period they had outhit the Kings 22-7, but the Kings outscored them 2-0. The second goal came once again on the power play; 1:02 into an Alec Martinez penalty (who otherwise played phenomenally) 93 took his third penalty of the game giving the Kings 58 seconds after the 4-on-4. They only needed 32. Kopitar took Phaneuf’s pass (again, some beautiful power play puck movement) and thanks to a Brown screen was able to blast it by Smith. 2-0 felt so much better than 1-0, let me tell you! Phaneuf was one fight away from a Gordie Howe hat trick (and by the way things were going after the whistles, it seemed like only a matter of time). Kopitar reached his season high record of 34 goals, and with 54 assists his 88 points will give him more than a point per game average. Martinez, who was all over the ice, flipped a guy over a hunched Quick when he threatened Quick after the play. It came after Jake Muzzin headed back down the tunnel and was confirmed out of the game with an upper-body injury.

The Kings that have the best goal differential in the third period came out for this third (for the most part.) It could have gone the other way – 2:53 in Lewis took a penalty but as usual Quick was on his game. The Flames weren’t going down without a fight, but after a somewhat unfortunate puck over the glass incident 7:36 in, there really wasn’t much hope for them. In the Flames fourth penalty, the Kings scored their third power-play goal. Kopitar clearly wanted to be close to a Gordie Howe hat trick too, assisting on Jeff Carter’s 10th goal in 16 games back. Carter cleaned up Kopitar’s rebound; Brown got his second assist of the evening and he still didn’t get a star of the game. That honor went to Phaneuf, Kopitar, and Quick who got the 49th shutout of his career. It was an important win and a game that highlighted what the Kings can do when necessary. Unfortunately, losing every second game in March means the next 5 games will likely all be necessary. Stay tuned, Kings fans, it’s coming down to the wire!