Kings Win A Game That Doesn’t Matter

In a Who’s Line Is It Anyway style game where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter, it was clear the Kings knew that and just didn’t care, at least in the first period. I can hardly blame them, this is certainly not where they wanted to be at this point (and to add insult to injury, the Predators lost so they could still have had a chance if they’d won Sunday.) 33 second in Anze Kopitar took a double minor (gosh so many things wrong with that sentence!) and things went downhill from here. The Kings had 3 grade A chances to score shorthanded but when Jeff Carter elected to pass to Nick Shore instead of shoot you knew they’d just given up. With 2 seconds remaining in the first minor the Oilers scored. Seriously they couldn’t have waited 3 more seconds?? It was just that kind of game. And the kicker? The goal came from Milan Lucic. Everything is awful. Brodzynski did his best to equalize before things got worse – man he has a killer release – but that pesky post halted his attempt. In the most Kings play ever, Cam Talbot was caught behind the net, mishandled the puck which ended up a foot from the goal line, dead center, and yet epithet a Kings couldn’t get to it. Not even an attempt when he as the back in position yet. To add insult to injury, a few shifts later the spoiler did just that, got to Quick (who I’m convinced should never stick handle like ever) before he could get back into position, and scored underneath his legs. 2-0 and the Kings couldn’t score to save their lives. Chance after chance. After chance.

In the second period the Kings found life. Now is when you start playing hockey boys?! Dustin Brown opened the scoring chances with a great play around several Oilers to gain the zone, but ended up on the ice before he could shoot. Brodzinski did though, and thanks to a tip in from Shore he got his first NHL point! It wouldn’t be his only point of the evening (when he gets going, he’s good.) The Kings tried to remember how to power a couple of times in a row, to no avail. But Brown didn’t need a power play to get his next goal; an excellently placed pass from Shore he sniped in past Talbot to tie the game, 12:29 into the second. Of course they immediately attempted to give up the lead again, because of course they do. Instead Quick was sharp and Nick Dowd scored instead, bringing the Kings the lead. Say what now? Brodzinski picked up his second point of the evening after a scramble at the net ended in the puck crossing the goal line. It only too 1:16 for the Oilers to equalize (because, again, of course) when Drew Doughty was caught flat-footed (man the Oilers are fast) and immediately after that Trevor Lewis took a penalty. Face palm and eye rolling so hard here.

Lewis clearly took offense to his penalty because 1:40 into the third period he scored! Good things happen when you go to the front of the net, and Lewis just does so much. Again Shore was part of the play, taking the shot from the point, letting Lewis clean up the rebound (and by Lewis we kind of mean the Oilers defense’s skates but we’ll take it.) Unsatisfied with a one goal lead, the Kings got another, a snipe from Tanner Pearson that will make his agent happy he can remind management – oh yeah Pearson is good at that y’all! With literally half the third period remaining, however, 5-3 was a precarious position to be in. That’s just enough time to do something stupid. Like let in a goal from Nurse with 6:12 remaining and set our fears alight for a while. A 1 goal lead with that much time left just isn’t that convincing, as proven by a very rowdy scramble by Quick with 3 minutes remaining I’m still not sure how the game didn’t end up tied by. But who are you going to call upon in a clutch situation? Doughty of course. As soon as the Oilers pulled Talbot, Doughty stole the puck in the neutral zone and shot it straight into the empty net. Phew! 6-4 and 1:21 remaining? Yeah that’s a game the Kings are gonna win. The points still don’t matter but pride does, and Doughty wanted to send a message that losing to Edmonton wasn’t going to happen again. Who knew games that don’t count could still be so much fun?