Kings Remain Undefeated in Regulation Against Blue Jackets

You had a feeling from the start this one would be a little bit different. Within the first eight minutes, the score was tied 2-2, a tally you might see from the Los Angeles Kings in recent years … as a final … over two games. But this is the new Kings, a team that is presently the only undefeated team in the NHL at 6-0-1.

By the end of the game Saturday night, the Kings sported a 6-4 victory over the skillful and successful Columbus Blue Jackets (now 5-3) in the first of a six-game road trip.

It was a fun game to watch, though at times you wondered who stole our old team and replaced it with a fast-skating, open-play, high-scoring squad that spent any amount of time in front of the opposition’s net.

Are we watching the same LA team that would in years previous bear down on defense and gladly bore the heck out of hockey fans with such low scoring, slow skating, tight checking games?

With an undefeated record, who the hell cares!

“W’s” have a way of making each game a joy.

Another joy comes in watching the resurgence of ex-captain Dustin Brown and present-captain Anze Kopitar, two duds from last year who have found new-found life and some magic chemistry on the same line (along with Alex Iafallo). The line accounted for four goals, with Kopitar chalking up two goals and one assist, and Brown netting one goal (empty netter) and three assists.

Said coach John Stevens of the line, “We needed to get contributions from everybody, but jeez, the Kopitar line, not only were they good defensively, they carried the load offensively, and it was kind of an up-and-down game, but they stayed with it. It’s not surprising that they were the ones that put the puck in at the end of the game. It’s just really good to see from those guys. I think they’ve taken a leadership role from Day 1, and they certainly came up big here tonight.”

The start wasn’t promising, however, as some unfortunate deja vu appeared as Adrian Kempe took a penalty, the other team scored on its first shot on Jonathan Quick and Derek Forbort was caught watching the opponent’s first goal, up close.

This was just the beginning however in a fast-paced game. By the second period, the Kings were back on top, with Jake Muzzin slinging in a shot at 0:40 and Drew Doughty tipping in a long shot at 3:59.

Tied 4-4 going into the third, it took almost the entire period before the new dynamic duo of Brown and Kopitar created one of those magic plays at 17:46. As Iafallo kept the puck alive in the offensive zone, Brown got the puck and passed it over to a streaking Kopitar who tipped a shot in with one hand on his stick. Magic.

We’ll just have to see how far the Kings can take this streak. Next up is the Toronto Maple Leafs in another away game, Monday at 4 p.m. pst.

Says Stevens, “We’ve got some really good offensive teams along this trip here, and I think at the end of the day, we told our guys a win is a win, and I think the guys found a way to win, and that’s the most important thing. But I think every game we play, we’ve got to sit back and be realistic and say, ‘This is what we did well, let’s continue to do well, and these are the things we need to improve on.'”

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