Kings vs. Wild; Dubnyk smothers Kings offense

By Emily Redenbach
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Updated: March 23, 2016

After a disappointing yet somewhat inevitable loss to the Nashville Predators the Kings looked to rebound against the Minnesota Wild to keep their lead against the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division. The Kings were 9-1-1 on the second night of back to back sets, so things looked promising going in. Tanner Pearson was a healthy scratch due to personal reasons so newly recalled Nic Dowd was set to make his NHL debut. Things didn’t go according to plan.

Dowd’s first shift was a success; he drew a high sticking penalty but considering the Kings hadn’t scored on a power play in the last 5 games (they were 0-for-18) it was no surprise that they did nothing with it. There were some good looks and Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk had to be sharp early in. Of course, being the LA Kings, as soon as Erik Haula was released from the box he scored almost immediately, beating Jonathan Quick (who was pulled after letting in 3 goals in the second period to let Jhonas Enroth take a stint in net for the third the night before) on their first shot on goal, 3:46 into the contest. At 6:40 Brayden McNabb was also called for high sticking; the Kings proved why their the best defensive team in the league, holding the Wild to no shots on goal. In fact it took until the halfway mark of the first period for the Wild do get their second shot on goal.

A delayed penalty with a little over 5 minutes to go saw the Kings on the penalty kill again. And again for high sticking (and part of me really wanted the penalties to end there or continue that way the whole game because 3 for 3 high sticking is an odd statistic.) Vincent Lecavalier took his two minutes in the box – the full two minutes because all 3 high sticks were killed off, the Wild not able to get a shot off on this one either. They were up to 3 shots on goal by the end of the first period. The Kings had 14 but of course no goals. 23 attempted shots to the Wild’s 4. That’s so LA Kings. More LA Kings than usual.

The parade of domination yet losing continued into the second; the Kings had the first 3 shots of the period, then a 3-on-1 against the Kings ended with a great block from McNabb but Nick Dowd in the box for interferance. The resulting penalty kill wasn’t stellar; the Wild got off 3 shots (remember that was their total SOG the entire first period) and then scored on a Mikko Koivu snap shot. (I blame Jake Muzzin for failing to clear the play before.) The Kings had their chance almost half way through the second on the power play but Dubnyk came up big. It was at least his second huge save on Drew Doughty (who’s name was all over the commentators lips the whole power play). (It should also be noted that Dowd had some power play time.) Doughty and the garage of good shots did loosen something though, and at 11:35, only 22 second after the power play ended, Tyler Toffoli finally capitalized. With great help from Dwight King along his left, he snapped the puck past heavy traffic and through to the back of the net. It was a beautiful shot.

The Kings were at this point out shooting the Wild 26-9. Being a typical frustrating Kings game however, Toffoli’s goal was followed by a Toffoli penalty. Even he was shaking his head at it. Unlike the last penalty they took however the Kings cleared successfully and didn’t allow even one shot on goal. Doughty continued to do Doughty things, making us wish even more that he could be cloned and put on the ice all the time. (He currently averages 28:12, 3rd in the league behind Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild.) The period ended with the shots 26-12, and Dubnyk making his bid for first star of the game. (Seriously it was getting frustrating; the Kings deserved to be smashing the Wild in the score but he was coming up BIG.)

The third was much more of the same. Kings getting chances and stifling the Wild offense, but Dubnyk making all of the saves. Jeff Carter fanned on an almost point-blank front of net shot, which didn’t help. (Shot update because it just kept getting more ridiculous: 31-13.) The Kings just needed one more break; it wasn’t happening. Dowd, showing he deserves a spot in the NHL, was making use of his minutes beside Toffoli, stripping the Wild of the puck and getting it to Toffoli’s quick hands. Again, thwarted by Dubnyk. The most disparaging part was that while the Kings were getting the shots they weren’t getting great ones – it was 2015 all over again, and a trend that could be dangerous if allowed to continue. On their 38th (yes, 38th!) shot Dowd, Nick Shore and Jake Muzzin all couldn’t get the puck past Dubnyk in a play that really should have gotten through. The final tally was 39-18, (with 19 blocked Kings shots and 9 blocked for the Wild) as Toffoli took a delayed penalty finally starting at 19:01, giving the Kings a tough time trying to score that tying goal.

In better news the Ducks also lost so the Kings retain a lead on the division. Nick Dowd was as advertised in the face-off circle (63%), and showed some good hockey sense in his 12:15 time on ice. Drew Doughty seems determined to beat his points total from last season – 46 – with an assist on the Toffoli goal he’s now at 47. (His career high was in the 2009-2010 season with 59.) And this is just one game against an opponent the Kings played down to. No need to worry about the post season.

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