Records:
Los Angeles Kings (1-1-0)
V.
New York Rangers (0-1-0)
Last 10:
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Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles
Time: 730PM
Channels: Fox Sports West
Local Radio: AM 1150
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Team Stats:
| Category | Los Angeles Kings | New York Rangers |
|---|
| Powerplay | 37.5% (4th) | 25.0% (10th) |
| Penalty Kill | 81.8% (16th) | 66.7 (25th) |
| G/G | 2.50 (18th) | 1.00 (29th) |
| GA/G | 3.50 (23rd) | 4.00 (26th) |
| S/G | 27.00 (25th) | 24.00 (30th) |
| SA/G | 31.00 (16th) | 32.00 (21st) |
Leading Scorers:
Los Angeles Kings
| Player | goals | assists | points | +/- |
|---|
| Jeff Carter | 2 | 0 | 2 |
-2 |
|---|
| Anze Kopitar | 0 | 2 | 2 |
-1 |
|---|
| Matt Frattin | 0 | 2 | 2 |
-2 |
|---|
| Drew Doughty | 1 | 0 | 0 |
-2 |
|---|
| Justin Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 |
even |
|---|
New York Rangers:
| Player | goals | assists | points | +/- |
|---|
| Marc Staal | 1 | 0 | 1 |
-1 |
|---|
| Derek Stepan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
-2 |
|---|
| Rick Nash | 0 | 1 | 1 |
-2 |
|---|
|
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Los Angeles Kings Preview:
The Kings come home with a 1-1 record to face off against the New York Rangers for their home opener. The Rangers are not at all a team they are unfamiliar with, as just two weeks ago the teams met in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand for Frozen Fury. With two rather veteren heavy lineups the Kings took the contest 4-1 with 3 first period goals from Kopitar, Richards and Carter. J.T. Miller had the lone goal for the Rangers who definitely had their struggles preseason (1-5), and looked very tame in their 4-1 loss in the first game of the year to the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.
The Kings had a blazing first period against the Jets but quickly hit a wall in the second period and the first half of the third. With a full two day break from Friday’s loss to Monday’s opener hopefully a rejuvenated Kings team takes the ice. The Kings didn’t exactly set the world on fire against Minnesota either and perhaps the best period of hockey they have played so far was ironically in a losing effort in Winnipeg. They are home for this short two game stand against the Rangers and the Senators before heading back out on the road for a four game southeast swing to Carolina, the Florida teams, and Nashville.
The big matchup everyone will be watching obviously is Lundqvist vs. Quick. It’s still early on in the season but whenever you get those two names on the ballot against each other it draws considerable interest. While neither of the opening games are truly a microcosm of what each netminder is capable of hopefully Monday nights contest can bring out the best in, what many consider, two leading Vezina candidates entering the season.
All he does is score. Jeff Carter has two goals in two games, and both have been rather momentous goals: The game tying goal against Minnesota late in the third, and the goal that stopped the bleeding at 4-1 against Winnipeg Friday. If he can start the season as hot as he finished last year’s regular season then the King’s could be in good shape offensively.
Speaking of Jeff Carter, his linemate Matt Frattin has certainly made an impact so far and the trio of Richards, Carter, and Frattin seem to be clicking. There was a carousel of sorts that line up with Carter and Richards last season so a steady hard working (cough cough Penner) left winger could go a long way in getting that line to stay consistent offensively.
The Kings’ bottom lines aren’t going to score a lot of goals. That much seems obvious. However, they haven’t been very tidy in a disciplinary manner which is cause for concern. The bottom lines and pairings have been responsible for eight of the Kings 12 minor penalties this year. If the contribution offensively is going to be limited, you can’t be putting your team behind the 8-ball on a regular basis either.
Not to completely isolate one player or one stat, Jake Muzzin is a minus-4 through the first two games with one assist and two shots on goal. I would use Corsi or Fenwick to draw some sort of conclusion but it is way too volatile at this early stage of the season to really say anything regarding those stats. Take note of that idea in general, despite Muzzin’s numbers it is still early in the season and plus/minus is arguably one of the most subjective stats out there.
Kings Lineup (Subject to change)
Dwight King - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams
Matt Frattin - Mike Richards - Jeff Carter
Dustin Brown - Jarret Stoll - Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford - Colin Fraser - Jordan Nolan
Robyn Regehr - Drew Doughty
Willie Mitchell - Slava Voynov
Jake Muzzin - Matt Greene
Jonathan Quick
Ben Scrivens
Scratches: Daniel Carcillo, Keaton Ellerby, Alec Martinez
Players to Watch: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Jonathan Quick, Jake Muzzin
New York Rangers Preview:
As mentioned before, the Rangers have had a tough start to the season including preseason. They went 1-5 in preseason and were outscored 9-22 in those games. They lost 1-4 against Phoenix bringing the seven game grand total to a -16 in scoring differential.
Despite a losing effort in Phoenix the Rangers did not look bad at all under new coach Alain Vigneault. You can thank a 24 save effort, several spectacular ones I might add, from Mike Smith for handing the Rags the L. It was a tight contest until Phoenix was able to break it open early in the third with a powerplay goal from Radim Vrbata to go up 3-1.
Under Vigneault the Rangers already look like a more cohesive and flowing unit. Breakouts under Tortorella were rather slow and methodical, whereas the ice seems more open under Vigenault with more options. Several of the Rangers young puckmovers like Del Zotto and McDonagh could greatly benefit from it once the team gets used to it. However, in front of the net it still looked like the Rangers lacked that decisive finishing touch they’ve been searching for.
The Rangers have had a very long break since their opening game on Thursday night. It comes at no better a time though as the team will get back captain Ryan Callahan who was out with a shoulder injury. Callahan has arguably been the most valuable player to the Blueshirts in recent history despite a lineup of forwards that includes Rick Nash and Brad Richards. His hard-working game is one that has personified Ranger hockey for some time. He will jump in for Jesper Fast on the third line until the Rangers can transition him into a more primary role.
Also joining the Ranger lineup for Monday for his grit will be aging winger Arron Asham. He will replace rookie J.T. Miller who after a subpar opening night was assigned to the Hartford Whale of the AHL.
Rick Nash dropped the gloves on Thursday after Martin Hanzal crushed Derek Stepan right in front of the Phoenix bench. You read that right, Rick Nash got in a fight. It was the first fight Nash has been in in a regular season game since the 2009-2010 season against Nick Shultz, formerly of the Minnesota Wild. It was only the sixth career fight for Nash.
New York Rangers: Lineup (Subject to change)
Brad Richards - Derek Stepan - Rick Nash
Benoit Pouliot - Derick Brassard - Mats Zuccarello
Taylor Pyatt - Brian Boyle - Ryan Callahan
Arron Asham - Dominic Moore - Derek Dorsett
Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Marc Staal - Michael Del Zotto
John Moore - Anton Stralman
Henrik Lundqvist
Martin Biron
Scratches: Justin Falk, Carl Hagelin (Shoulder), Jesper Fast
Players to watch: Ryan Callahan, Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist
FIRST PERIOD SCORING
New York Rangers Goal - 13:32 - Brad Richards, Assists: R. Nash, D. Stepan
SECOND PERIOD SCORING
New York Rangers Goal - 10:46 - Brad Richards, Assists: R. Nash
LA Kings Goal - 12:11 - Jake Muzzin, Assits: M. Richards
THIRD PERIOD SCORING
New York Rangers Goal - 4:39 - Ryan McDonagh, Assists: B. Boyle
FINAL SCORE 3-1 Rangers Win
Post game analysis:
It doesn't get much worse than that.
Let's just sum it up real quickly shall we? There were several awful turnovers from two of the teams cornerstone defensemen in Slava Voynov and Drew Doughty, some bad offensive zone penalties, a lack of finish from the team's top players, and a goalie mishandled zone clearance that led to a goal. If there is one positive for the Kings, it's over, and we can move on.
Doughty played perhaps one of the worst games I've ever seen him play in a King jersey. He forced the play on several occasions and opted to take the difficult route instead of the easy and safe play. The results were a ton of neutral zone and defensive zone turnovers, one which led to a goal and two others which led to prime scoring opportunities. He was not alone though as Voynov had a similar evening, and Kyle Clifford's neutral zone turnover led to the Ranger second goal. The Kings have not at all been clean in their own zone thus far this season and it's starting to become a frustrating thing to watch.
The Quick mishandling, the elephant in the room, was bad. Yes, it was awful and a dagger in the heart of any chances that the team had to get back in the game. However, what was more disappointing to me was the reaction by the crowd at Staples Center. Several mock cheers later I was happy to see Quick throw up his glove in an almost disgruntled manner after a glove save. Fans should show more respect towards Quick, who has had a rough time early on behind a King defense that hasn't been clicking. Despite an obvious howler he deserves a little more respect than that, and as Quick said to the media after the game, "So you guys going to write a whole story on that one goal?" Right now that one flub should not be the number one concern on fans minds. Nor should it lead to incessant questioning of Jonathan Quick and his ability. Anyone who is to that point already should go watch the 2011-12 and 2012-13 postseason highlights.
Not to be all doom and gloom, Jake Muzzin got on the board with a laser of a shot on a play that was created from the hard work and determination of Mike Richards. The Kings were almost rewarded a second time when Trevor Hustle got a short handed breakaway only to be Lundqvist and get stopped by the post. If the Kings are going to get out of this early season funk it's going to have to be with plays and effort like that.
Despite the Muzzin snipe, Darryl Sutter was not happy with the young defenseman's game and it sounds like Martinez may see his first action of the season come Wednesday. At this point I wouldn't be surprised to see Carcillo make an appearance either. That one is just a guess though.
I expected a much more fluid and attacking New York Rangers team under Alain Vigneault and that is exactly what we got. The Rangers are going to be in a good state if they can put together continual efforts with that kind of pressure and puck management. Credit the Rags, they came out with a distinct game plan and had the Kings on their heels for the entirety of that game.
Callahan did not factor at all into the contest, and played just 11 minutes. He only had one shift during the second period, in which he collided with King forward Anze Kopitar and did not return for the remainder of the period.
It's still early in the season, so those who have hit freakout mode already should step back and realize that this is an 82-game season. There is a lot of hockey left to play.
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