Having started the season 0-2, the Los Angeles Kings made a stop in Edmonton on Thursday night.
It was a strange game. There were penalties throughout, though there was only one fight. There were 5 on 4, 5 on 3, and 4 on 3 power play opportunities, you name it, this game had it. In fact, the Kings had 4 power play opportunities in the first 10 mins of the game, including a 5 on 3.
When the first period ended, the Kings were 0-5 on the power play, having registered only four shots on goal with the man advantage. The closest they would come, was when Anze Kopitar managed to find the post, with about 10 seconds left in a 5 on 3 power play.
The game remained scoreless as the second period began. That all changed just past the halfway point of the game. Kyle Clifford had replaced Dustin Penner on the 2nd line, and was skating regular shifts with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. The Kings broke out of their zone, with the beefy Clifford carrying the puck up the left wing boards. The ever opportunistic Jeff Carter bolted through the middle of the ice, and just as he crossed the opposing blueline, received a perfect pass from Clifford, and was in on a clean breakaway. Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk came out to the top of the crease to cut down the shooting angle. Carter instead held on to the puck, and moved in. He deked once on his forehand side, before going backhand, and deftly roofing a shot into the top of the net, to give the Kings a 1-0 lead at 13:26.
The 3rd period was scoreless into the waning moments. It appeared as though the Kings would escape with a 1-0 shutout win, then things got strange.
The Oilers first appeared to have tied the game, when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a power play goal with just 1:05 left to play. It was ruled that Sam Gagner had interfered with Jonathan Quick, and the goal was disallowed. That set the stage for late heroics by rookie sensation Nail Yakupov. With only five seconds to play, The young Russian batted a rebound out of midair and past Quick, to tie the game at 1-1.
In overtime, the Kings got called for their 2nd "too many men on the ice" penalty of the game; it would prove costly. At the 3:01 mark, Sam Gagner ended the game by stuffing in a rebound.
There were 12 total penalties called during the game, 7 against the Kings, 5 against the Oilers.
The Kings entered the game, 0-11 on the power play this season; they are now 0-16. Edmonton outshot L.A. 39-31.
A microcosm of this game, can be found in the numbers of Kopitar. Anze played a great game, registered 6 shots on goal, and hit the goalpost twice. All he had to show for it in the end, was a +/- rating of -1.
Next stop will be in Phoenix on Saturday, to face the Coyotes at 5:00 PT.
Kings line combinations:
1) Kopitar - Brown - Williams
2) Richards - Carter - *Clifford
3) Stoll - Nolan - Lewis
4) *Richardson - Fraser - Nolan
** Kyle Clifford moved up from the 4th line to replace Dustin Penner. Brad Richardson replaced Simon Gagne in the lineup. Both Penner and Gagne were healthy scratches
Defense pairings:
1) Doughty - Scuderi
2) Martinez - Voynov
3) Drewiske - Muzzin
G - Jonathan Quick
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Contact Charles:
Email - Charles@officialinsidesports.com
Twitter - @TheInsideSports
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