Preview of Game 27: Los Angeles Kings
By Sean
Wow, it’s been a while. Unfortunately, I had some complications with my laptop and my internet with my school, so I wasn’t really able to make any posts. UNTIL NOW. The Kings visit the Honda Center tonight. Here’s my preview:
Season Series: 2-0 LA (what season series isn’t like this???)
Last Matchup: 5-3 LA – 11/17/11
I remember watching this game, part 2 of the Freeway FaceOff, and I felt the Ducks didn’t play too bad. The Kings got on board first in the second period. Foster blew a tire when he tried to put a shot on goal and the Kings sprinted back and Foster couldn’t get back to cover Mike Richards as he put a backhand by Dan Ellis. Andrew Cogliano tied it up in the first after a fortunate bounce of a skate right to him for an easy goal. Simon Gagne then scored shorthanded later in the second on a breakaway past Cam Fowler. Early in the third, the Kings took a 3-1 lead off of a power play goal from Slava Voynov. The Ducks got the next goal, also on the power play, when Corey Perry was being his usual self in front of the net as the puck hit off of him and by Jonathan Quick. Cogliano got his second of the night on a deflection of a Luca Sbisa shot to tie it up. Then Anze Kopitar got his own rebound on his wraparound try to give the Kings the lead right back. Richards then ended it with his second of the night as from his own blue line scored an empty netter to make the final 5-3.
Breakdown of the Kings:
The Kings are coming off a loss at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. The Kings found themselves being shut out 2-0 just after midway through the second period when they finally beat Carey Price. Former Duck Dustin Penner got his first of the season at 13:46 of the second period. He deflected a point shot from Drew Doughty on a power play. Since 1993, when the Canadiens defeated the Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Kings are just 5-16 against the Canadiens. Kopitar is still leading the Kings in points with 25 points in 26 games. Their second-leading scorer, Mike Richards, was put on injured reserve recently. That means, Justin Williams, Dustin Brown and Simon Gagne, will need to step up, well at least one of them to take his place. Along with Doughty, Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene have been solid on defense. Then, in net, they have one of the best in the game in my opinion. If Jonathan Quick isn’t an All-Star this year there’s something wrong. Then again, James Reimer is a leader among goalies, so there is already something wrong.
Keys to the Game:
- LAK: Continue dominance over Ducks with good forechecking and put pressure on the Ducks defense.
- LAK: Ducks allow a lot of goals in short stints, so the Kings should keep up the pressure right after they score a goal.
- ANA: Build some confidence.
- ANA: Defense has got to step it up and play better.
Players to Watch:
- LAK – G – Jonathan Quick: He is so good and he boasted a .987 save percentage last week.
- LAK – C – Anze Kopitar: He’s got two points in two games against the Ducks this season and is a +2.
- ANA – C – Ryan Getzlaf: I feel like he is quietly hot right now because his leadership abilities have been in question. However, he does have two goals and nine assists in the last nine games.
- ANA – RW – Corey Perry: He’s got five goals and six assists in the last nine games. However, never forget about the Flash.
Prediction:
I feel like this team is so close to turning this season around. If the defense can tighten it up, the team can win some games. They won’t win games if they continue to leave their goalies out to dry. Hiller finally called out their defense to step it up, which I love by the way. So we’ll see how the defense responds. If the defense plays better, this team can win. However, something always seems to go wrong. Then, the Ducks all hang their heads and their confidence drops. However, I think Bruce Boudreau could say something about that!!!! (Beware, the language in that link could be offensive, or hilarious hahahaha!)