Coyotes at Kings: What a Kingsy Loss

Well, then. That’s a game we all experienced. A rollercoaster of a game with a trash heap of an ending.

The first period was not great. After a some strong possession, the Kings had a great flurry in front of Mike Smith, but somehow, they weren’t able to put the puck in the back of the net. Fine, that’s fine, bad bounces and bad luck happens, but then it goes off the rails.

The Coyotes cycle, Radim Vrbata throws the puck at the net, and Klinkhammer cleans up and gets the rebound for the goal. Garbage. As if this wasn’t bad enough, Doughty immediately takes a penalty because it wouldn’t be a Kings game unless there’s a very poorly timed penalty!

With how the game was going, even this early in the period, I don’t think anyone was too surprised when about a minute after the first goal, Boedker takes advantage of the power play and backhands one past Quick.

It was St. Patrick’s Day, so I assume people were drinking anyway, but if you weren’t now was the time to start!

It was looking pretty dire for the Kings at this point because the Coyotes managed some solid play, but then Tanner Pearson just tears it up the the ice and fires off a quick shot to get the Kings back within one.

 
(I’m always happy when rookies score, and he just looks so tickled pink about this goal.)

After that goal, things seemed better though not great, but in stark contrast to the first period, the 2nd period was p h e n o m e n a l. The Kings spent nearly the full twenty in the Coyotes’ zone and just didn’t let up. With that dominance, the Kings were able to make things happen. Sweet prince Alec Martinez continues with his hot streak (I’m not talking about his face (maybe I am a little)), and just rifles one past Mike Smith and buries it in the far corner.

Me about Martinez right now or all the time, basically.

After these 2 goals and the game tied up, life was put back into the Staples Center. With the Kings on the power play and having had a better power play over all post-Olympics, had the chance to take the lead. Marian Gaborik, who is doing his best to endear himself to the LA masses, added more fuel to that fire with a sweet goal off of a pass from Anze Kopitar.

 
You’re pretty cool Gaborik, you keep doing what you’re doing.

The Kings are up 3-2 after being down 2 through most of the 1st, so it sounds about right that they would squander that effort right?

Into the third, the Kings have the lead and had a fantastic 2nd, and we all know about the Kings being perfect with a lead after the second. Yeah, about that.

Half way into the period, Keith Yandle just throws one off the net, and while Quick gets a bit of it with his glove, it’s just not enough and the puck hits the back of the net. Dean Lombardi is sitting somewhere in the Staples Center, unsurprised because in Tab 4, Paragraph 2 of the Yandle Manifesto, he totally describes the dangers of a Yandle slapshot.

With the game tied, the Kings try to push and get their lead back but to no avail. In a series of what looked like legendary saves, upon video review, Jonathan Quick let one of those shots past the goal line, giving the Coyotes a lead. I’m still furious about it.

The Kings fight for a tying goal right until the final horn sounds, but in the end, they just weren’t good enough. After the fun ride that was the 8-game win streak, the Kings are back on the loser train, dropping their 3rd game, and to a division rival fighting to stay in playoff contention no less. The Kings are still solidly 3rd in the division, but if they could stop dropping games in order to solidify their playoff spot even more, that’d be great. In the meantime, let’s just forget this ever happened.