LA Kings Beat Lundqvist and Rangers in OT… AGAIN!

By Jeff Duarte
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Updated: February 5, 2019

(Featured photo by nhl.com)

After a hard-fought but heartbreaking loss against the NY Islanders on Saturday, our Los Angeles Kings faced off against their 2014 Stanley Cup Final rivals, Henrik Lundqvist and the NY Rangers. And like in that historical 5 game series where Alec Martinez scored the overtime winner to win the Kings their second Stanley Cup in 3 seasons, the Kings won last night in overtime again, this time 4-3 with the OT winner by Tyler Toffoli, you know, just for old time’s sake. (And by old time’s sake, I mean Lundqvist must LOATHE playing the Kings in overtime! Or like my good friend Jerry Atkin said to me last night, “He should loathe playing the Kings period!” Agreed Jerry, agreed. I feel the Kings just constantly give the so-called “King” Lundqvist some serious nightmares due to these very late in the game (or Fergie time for those of you who know what that means) winners by the Kings, especially since earlier this season, Alec Martinez scored another late game-winner, (just not in OT that time), back on October 28th, with 55 seconds left in the game to also win that one 4-3. (Oh what sweet and beautiful Déjà vu that was!)

(Thanks to Kings’ fan Frank Danowski for finding this golden gem for me!)

But enough about Henrik. The game started with…. okay I don’t know as I was still training some boxing at Joslin’s MMA in Hamilton, ON (shameless plug) when the game started and had to rush home in order to catch the game already in progress around the halfway mark in the first period. Luckily for me, my wife had the Kings’ game already playing on TV (which is one of the many, many reasons why I married her!) Sadly though, I walked into the house and the game with the Rangers already up 1-0 from a Chris Kreider goal at 8:32, (which made me turn around and walk right back out the front door and curse the boxing Gods for their cruelty! But I quickly ran back in when the Kings’ challenged the goal for being off-side. Sadly again, Jim Fox pointed out that they actually weren’t offside and that it was a good goal, and the well dressed, wild monkeys that chaotically run the NHL Video Situation room in Toronto concurred. So I turned around again, walked out the front door and continued my “complaints” to the boxing Gods).

Later, I was back in the house and able to see Jonathan Quick make some huge saves before Ilya Kovalchuk beautifully faked a shot, making Lundqvist flinch, (which jesters normally do, not real Kings), and setting up a one-timer to a streaking Adrian Kempe to tie the game 1-1 at 17:23! It was Kempe’s 6th goal of the season and “Kovi’s” 14th assist, and former Rangers’ player (who faced off against our Kings in that 2014 Final), Carl Hagelin‘s 5th assist.

Undeterred, the Rangers went back on the attack but Quick was able to hold them off to end the period. And hold them off he did, well, until 32 seconds into the second period when the Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad scored to make it 2-1. But have no fear fellow Kings’ fans, Jake Muzzin then came to the rescue and tied the game with a blazing shot from the point to tie things up…. no, wait. No sorry, that was in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ game against the Ducks. Oops, my bad. (Yeah, having Muzzin gone and playing for another team is going to take some time for me to get used to).

Oh and before that goal, Muzzin also destroyed Corey Perry, because you know, just for old time’s sake. Muzzin ended up getting a goal and 2 assists in that game against the Ducks, and you can read all about it with our very own Rebbi Rabb’s Ducks’ game recap here.

But enough jibber-jabbering about the FORMER LA King Jake Muzzin. Well okay, just one more thing. This;

(We miss you boo! Well except for those #Muzzkill moments of course)

Okay, enough of that. After the Rangers almost killed one of the referees by hitting him with the puck, the Kings actually did tie the game up at 2-2 in the 3rd period, when Captain Anze Kopitar scored a sweet backhander goal that would have made both Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe smile, (you know, because they always preached that player should always practice their backhand shots), at 5:04 for his 16th goal of the season, with Kovalchuk getting his second assist of the game.

And now for some bad news. First, we found out that Jeff Carter suffered some sort of lower body injury during the second period, and that he wasn’t returning for the rest of the game, and then the Rangers took a 3-2 lead at 9:15, after some extremely sloppy defensive play by the Kings. Hagelin, forgetting that he doesn’t play for New York anymore, made a poor defensive zone clearance attempt which was easily intercepted by Adam McQuaid, who with the help of some traffic in front of Quick, made no mistake with it for his first goal of the season.

Drew Doughty took exception to this, (probably because he just found out that Muzzin crushed Perry with a hit, so he was like, “Oh yeah, well I can do that too, okay!?!?), and nailed Mats Zuccarello to spark the Kings back to life.

With the clock ticking down and the game almost over, the Kings pressed and transformed back into the comeback/cardiac Kings of old, (you know, for old time’s sake), when Kempe scored his second of the game and 7th goal of the season by one-timing a backhand pass from Toffoli, (who was in Gretzky’s office), to tie things up 3-3, with exactly a minute left to go! It was Toffoli’s 13th assist of the season and the recently called up from the Ontario Reign, Mike Amadio’s 3rd assist. (Amadio was replacing the injured Carter on that line for the 3rd period).

So off to overtime, we go as both teams earned at least one point. Seconds into the extra period and with the luck of a goal post, the Rangers almost earned that second point and the victory when Zibanejad beat Quick with a shot but he rang the puck right off the post. Then on the ensuing counter-attack, Toffoli razzled and dazzled before roofing a wrist shot past Lundqvist and into the net for the game-winner and his 9th goal of the season at just: 25 seconds into 3 on 3 overtime! Kempe, who had scored earlier from a terrific, behind the net pass by Toffoli, returned the favor by assisting on the play for his 9th assist of the season, and 3rd point of the game! (Atta boy! Now just keep that up!)

(ca.sports.yahoo.com)

The Kings win it 4-3 in overtime and I have no doubt Henrik Lundqvist is doing something like this, right now at this very moment, while facing southwest towards Los Angeles…

With the win, Jonathan Quick picked up his 10th win of the season and his 303rd regular season career victory. Tonight the Kings play their 2012 Stanley Cup Final rivals, (it’s a theme!), the New Jersey Devils at 4:00 pm pacific/7:00 pm eastern time to complete this back to back New York market series (and Stanley Cup-winning reunion tour). Hopefully, then we will know more about the extent of Carter’s lower body injury, but my gut is telling me he won’t be in that game’s line-up, even just as a precautionary move.

So until then my fellow Kings’ fans, always remember this…

(lohud.com)

… and this because, you know…

(latimes.com)

… just for old time’s sake.

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Okay, I have been JD Stylz and now I am out of here, (because I have to go apologize to the boxing Gods so I don’t get knocked out in my next training session!)

GO KINGS GO!!!

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