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Quick Great But Wild Edge Kings 3-2 in Shootout.

(Featured photo by Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Guess who’s back with a brand new fact that the Kings still score like …. very little. I’m sorry to all of my readers for my long absence but I was busy travelling around the world in search of our Los Angeles Kings’ lost offense. I searched high and low, through treacherous mountains, scorching deserts, frozen tundra (aka Canada) and Universal Studios, only to find nothing. If I was hoping to find this missing offense, (that does make appearances here and there like against Vegas in December or like Snoop Dogg’s recent game against Pittsburgh), in this game against the Minnesota Wild, then my search still continues. But on the positive side, our Kings were able to tie the game up twice and take matters into overtime, which sealed them a point before losing in a poor shootout, but at least I’m back, right? RIGHT?!

(photo by David J. Villa during my Shaolin monk epic journey)

Things got off to a (VERY) slow start for our Kings as the game began, but Jonathan Quick seemed up for the task, making some key saves against Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu, Eric Staal and Ryan Suter.

 

The Kings finally found their legs, (kind of), and started counter attacking, but the Wild’s goaltender Alex Stalock, (formerly of the Sharks) was also up for the task, stopping attacks from Ilya Kovalchuk and Brendan Leipsic. (Oh boy. It’s going to be one of those games isn’t it?) The first period ended with no goals and no penalties, with the only major highlight besides Quick’s saves, being Dustin Brown showing Zucker who’s boss.

 

In the second period, the Kings started even slower and Minnesota was all over them. First they attacked with a two on one rush but botched it somehow. Seconds later Quick had to stop the puck and the bouncy rebound after it, before he finally got beat by a shot that luckily hit the post. But wait! The puck then bounced behind Quick, who tried to put a leg on the puck to stop the play, but “Quickie” slid ever so closely to the goal line with that leg and may have accidently slid the puck into the net. This means the well dressed zoo monkeys that “work” in the Toronto Video Situation room would have to review the play and see if the puck did indeed cross the line or not. After much monkey business, the silly primates pushed the right button this time that determined that it was in fact a no goal. So it’s still 0-0!

 

Former Captain of the New Jersey Devils Zach Parise tried to avenge the no goal (and the 2012 Stanley Cup Final loss to the Kings) by blistering all alone on a breakaway, but Quick made the big save, and then another one as Parise tried to score on the rebound.

 

Quick was definitely on his game today, especially during one on ones or two on one attacks, so the only other way the Wild were going to beat him, was the screen him and create some major traffic in front of him. So they did. At 10:16, Nino Niederreiter scored his 9th of the season from a shot in the slot while Quick was screened by some major traffic. 1-0 Wild.

But fear not fellow Kings’ fans, as the Kings bounced back immediately when Kovalchuk tapped in a rebound for his 8th goal of the season, from an outside the circle shot by Dustin Brown to tie it up 1-1 at 16:03. Props to the Captain Anze Kopitar who had the Wild’s attention while screening the goalie, which allowed “Kovi” to freely knock that puck into the net.

 

If the first two periods were the Jonathan Quick show, then the 3rd period belonged to Stalock, which officially made this game into the goaltending equivalent of a “dance off!” The Kings started to press, (better late than never I guess?) but Stalock was holding the fort, stopping quality chances from Jeff Carter, Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli and Kovalchuk. Keeping his team into the game, the Wild counter attacked and almost scored when Quick made a huge save from Drew Doughty! Yes, you read that right. Drew Doughty. Of course this wasn’t done on purpose by the Kings’ greatest defensemen of all time, as the puck accidently bounced off his skate, and the “Jedi Master” Quick was able to stick his leg out in a flash, (not The Flash), in time to stop the renegade puck from getting into the net.

 

Sadly, the puck still had other plans as Minnesota took the lead again when former Carolina Hurricane Captain Staal, tipped in the puck for his 14th goal of the season at 7:13 from a point shot by Suter. This was after a very poor defensive zone clearing attempt by the Kings. Desperate, the Kings woke up and threw everything at Stalock while the clock started ticking down. Stalock made save after save as the Kings pressed hard in the Wild’s defensive zone. It almost looked like they were on a power-play. (Like where was this aggressiveness and passion for the first three quarters of this game??? Ugh, that is so Kings). Despite Stalock’s best efforts, “El Jefe” Jeff Carter tied it up with his 10th goal of the season, when he knocked in the loose puck in the crease with 2:30 left in the game. 2-2!

 

The Kings kept pressing but some shots were botched, while the others were saved by Stalock. But to overtime we go, as an automatic point is awarded to both teams.

In overtime, things got strange. First, Drew Doughty took a bizarre penalty. Doughty was tangled up with a Minnesota player while he had the puck, but even after he distributed the puck to a teammate in the offensive zone, the Wild player still held on to Doughty and they crashed into Stalock and the net. I thought the ref should have let it go, or send both guys to the box because that looked like interference to me by the Wild player, but instead, only Doughty got the two minute penalty. (Ugh). The second strange thing was during the Minnesota power-play, while they were in the Kings’ zone, Suter passed the puck to the open Jared Spurgeon, but he got smoked by … um … a ghost or something, because there was no one around him, yet he fell as if he got hit by a mack truck, (aka Dustin Brown). The closest Kings’ player to him was Kopitar, so maybe Kopitar used “The Force” or something? Whatever it was, it worked and with the help of some more fine saves by Quick, the penalty was killed and we were off to the shootout.

 

And that’s were the “fun?” ended. As the Wild scored one by Zucker, and the Kings scored none with two of their attempts being botches by Kovalchuk, when he skated too far to the boards that made him lose momentum, and by Brown when he missed the puck with his shot and then tried to fix it with a second shot (which he didn’t miss this time), but Stalock was already in position to make that save. (Maybe Brown’s wasn’t a mistake. Maybe he just tried to fake out Stalock by pretending to miss the puck with his first shot attempt? Yeah, but probably not).

So the Wild defeated the Kings 3-2 with the shootout but the Kings still salvaged a point. Better than nothing I guess? I’m sure it depends on what your perspective as a Kings’ fan is of course. If you are a #LoseForHughes supporter, then you’d rather have the Kings tank the season, in order to get better odds at winning the Jack Hughes lottery draft sweepstakes for this June. So the Kings getting a point doesn’t help that cause. Or you are a supporter (like me), who want the Kings to win and gain points just out of personal Kings’ fan pride and hope for the best. (And because I just HATE losing!) If that’s the case, then this game wasn’t a total bust because we at the very least gained a point. Either way is fine as I don’t judge fellow Kings’ fans. Do what you have to do. Cheer how you want to cheer. I understand the whys of both perspectives. But I feel we all should take our hats off and bow to the outstanding goaltending performances we witnessed in this game by both Quick and Stalock. Especially “Quickie” who made 40 saves, (some of them breathtaking), and seems to be finally settling down in net, be in fine form again and be tracking the puck with his legendary laser focus again. Having “The Force” helps too.

Despite the loss, this painful, oh so painful season must go on, as the Kings play the Stars next in Dallas, Texas tomorrow at 5:30 pm pacific.

So until then, I have been JD Stylz and I am out of here!

GO KINGS GO!!!

*Special thanks to Eric of @Kingsgifs and David J. Villa.

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