Kings at Predators: They’re Always Going to be the Perds
This mini road trip looks like it’s shaping up to be just like the last roadie the Kings took.
The Preds strike first as Craig Smith gets a breakaway and beats Jones. Then, we get a milestone as Jamie McBain scores his first goal as a King when he drives towards the net in support of a hustling Marian Gaborik. He just plops his stick on the ice and directs Gaborik’s shot into the goal.
The teams go into the 2nd period tied, but about a minute in, Gaborik pulls an “anything you can do, I can do better,” gets a little breakaway of his own and quickly gets it past Rinne, giving the Kings the lead. That party would be squashed near the end of the second when the Predators score two quick goals 54 seconds apart with a little catfish interlude.
No, this isn’t some sort of old-timey reference, a literal catfish was thrown onto the ice after Ellis’ tying goal.
Ryan Ellis and Eric Nystrom score to give the Preds the lead again, and the Kings go into the 3rd down a goal and looking to play catch up.
Fortunes change quick, and about 40 seconds into the third period, it changed back in the Kings favor. Drew Doughty scores another for the defensemen with a beauty of a coast-to-coast goal to tie the Kings up again. If that goal looked familiar, I think I know why. Let’s transport ourselves back to June 2, 2012.
*Admittedly small sample size.
1.) Get chased in your zone by a dude whose jersey number ends in 3.
2.) Assess the mass of colored sweaters from the center of the ice.
3.) Notice that there are now 4 bad guys between you and the goal (and another bad guy).
4.) Casually deke around one dude as he comically tries to give you a vaudevillian hook.
5.) Shoot the puck while smashing your body into a member of the opposing team.
6.) Celebrate while maintaining some questionable facial hair!
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Neither the Predators nor the Kings tally another goal in the third, so it’s off to over time with them.
Neither team scores in OT though Robyn Regehr gave the Predators a pretty good opportunity by taking a penalty near the end of it. Rinne and Jones stood tall to keep their teams in it, but Jones may have to take the goal posts out for drinks sometime because they bailed him out at least 3 times during OT.
Onwards to the shootout, and the goalies are the stars of this show, denying every opportunity on both ends, at least until the 6th round. James Neal speeds towards Jones and is able to break through his calm tending of the goal. Prior to Neal’s goal, Jones had stopped 17 of the 17 shots that he faced in the shootout.
The Kings have STILL only won a SINGLE road game in nine played, and I know it’s still early in the season, but I’m getting a bit dejected about this.
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