Records:
Los Angeles Kings (2-2-0)
V.
Carolina Hurricanes (2-1-1)
Last 10:
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Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Time: 4:00 PM PST, 7:00 PM EST.
Channels: Fox Sports West
Local Radio: KTLK AM 1150
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Leading Scorers:
Los Angeles:
| Player | goals | assists | points | +/- |
|---|
| Jeff Carter | 4 | 1 | 5 | -2 |
|---|
| Anze Kopitar | 0 | 4 | 4 | Even |
|---|
| Mike Richards | 0 | 3 | 3 | -2 |
|---|
| Dustin Brown | 2 | 0 | 0 | Even |
|---|
| Matt Frattin | 0 | 2 | 2 | -5 |
|---|
Goaltender Stats
| Player | W | L | OT | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|
| Jonathan Quick | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.13 | .890 | 0 |
|---|
Carolina Hurricanes
| Player | goals | assists | points | +/- |
|---|
| Jeff Skinner | 0 | 5 | 5 | +3 |
|---|
| Justin Faulk | 0 | 4 | 4 | +1 |
|---|
| Nathan Gerbe | 3 | 0 | 3 | Even |
|---|
| Radek Dvorak | 2 | 0 | 2 | +3 |
|---|
| Eric Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
|---|
Goaltender Stats
| Player | W | L | OT | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|
| Anton Khudobin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 | .940 | 0 |
|---|
| Cam Ward | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.90 | .893 | 0 |
|---|
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Team Stats:
| Category | Los Angeles Kings | Carolina Hurricanes |
|---|
| Powerplay | 31.2 (5th) | 14.3 (19th) |
| Penalty Kill | 83.3% (14th) | 84.6% (12th) |
| G/G | 2.50 (19th) | 2.25 (21st) |
| GA/G | 3.25 (24th) | 2.75 (16th) |
| S/G | 28.8 (21st) | 32.2 (8th) |
| SA/G | 28.8 (10th) | 31.2 (19th) |
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Los Angeles Kings Preview:
Despite playing, what many would consider, very un-King-like hockey the team stands at 2-2. They escaped a an overtime comeback victory by the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday after being up 3-0 in the first period. They start a four game swing of the Southeast tonight with Carolina, and will move on to Florida, Tampa Bay, and Nashville in the coming days. A good start to the roadtrip could be a nice step in getting the team more gelled and in synch. The team has yet to really put together a full 60 minute game thus far.
Look out, Jeff Carter is hot again. He has four goals in as many games and the rare assists. Last season Carter was the Kings’ most valuable goal scorer loading up 26 in just 48 games. His hot hand has continued on to 2013-14 and much of it is thanks to the hustle of linemate Mike Richards, and also the Kings killer powerplay.
Speaking of the powerplay, the Kings scored three powerplay goals the other night and now sit at a lofty 31-percent. The powerplay has not been incredibly potent the last several years, but it seems like that isn’t the case so far this season. However, they have benefited from several 5-on-3 advantages and are in the top half of the league with 16 powerplay chances in four games. Teams haven’t exactly been disciplined against them. The Hurricanes are currently averaging around 10 penalty minutes a game and four minors a game. They will need to be on their best behavior otherwise they could get iced by a white hot LA special teams group. The Kings have one of the lowest 5-on-5 scoring rates, so the powerplay figures to be a huge part of this game.
While Quick’s numbers overall look haggard, he has played well overall and has had to deal with an LA defense that looks a tiny bit out of synch. The presence of Rob Scuderi has looked like it has created a big hole in the LA defense, particularly in keeping attackers to the outside. While Regehr, Greene, and Mitchell have done admirable as the shutdown men, the loss of Scuderi is starting to look greater than initially thought perhaps.
Looks like Slava Voynov might be getting his minutes cut down. Kings Insider Jon Rosen tweeted out the following today:
As mentioned before the bottom lines are going to be the key in the successful implementation of the King gameplan. While the scorers came to life the other night and potted four from powerplay or top line units, three goals came against the King bottom lines despite there being a major swap in personnel from the previous two games. Frattin is a -5, Stoll a -3, and Clifford a -2. Also, Frattin, Lewis, Stoll, and Dwight King are amongst the bottom of King forwards in relative Corsi rating thus far. It’s still early on, but the Kings obviously do need a little more defensive responsibility from the bottom six.
Lineups in all likelihood will stay the same for the Kings, with perhaps the only switch coming to the bottom line. It’s plausible Colin Fraser could get back into the mix for Dwight King. A line of Fraser, Stoll, and Nolan skated in practice during Tuesday of this week at TSC.
Kings Lineup (Subject to change)
Dustin Brown - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams
Daniel Carcillo - Mike Richards - Jeff Carter
Kyle Clifford - Trevor Lewis - Matt Frattin
Dwight King - Jarret Stoll - Jordan Nolan
Robyn Regehr - Drew Doughty
Willie Mitchell - Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez - Matt Greene
Jonathan Quick
Ben Scrivens
Scratches: Colin Fraser, Keaton Ellerby, Jake Muzzin
Players to Watch: Daniel Carcillo, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown
Carolina Hurricanes Preview:
Cam Ward, Cam Ward, Cam Ward. Isn’t that always the talk when people bring up the Carolina Hurricanes? Rightfully so, as Cam Ward has been one of the better goaltenders the last couple of years despite being on a struggling team. But move over a second, Anton Khudobin would like to say something about that. The 27-year old has been tremendous in his two starts this season allowing just three goals on 50 shots. On the second night of a back to back though it’s likely we will see the aforementioned Cam Ward. Ward has definitely felt the heat in his two starts as he has faced a staggering 75 shots, an average of 37.5 a game. He had 35 saves in a losing effort to Detroit, and was shelled by Pittsburgh in a 5-2 loss on Tuesday. He’ll be looking to bounceback against the Kings.
Leading goal scorers? Staal right? No. Skinner right? No. Semin right? No. Radek Dvorak and Nathan Gerbe. Yes you read that right. A 36-year old Dvorak, and a 5’5 Nathan Gerbe. Suffice to say the Hurricanes have been getting scoring from places other than their top end, top paid forwards. I wouldn’t expect that to last long, but it still has to be frustrating to see little to no goal scoring production coming out of the Staal brothers, Semin, or Tlusty, who figure to be massive parts of this Hurricane offense.
There are a number of young talents to keep an eye on tonight. The highly anticipated 5th overall selection from this past draft, Elias Lindholm from Sweden, already has his first NHL goal at just 18. He was playing general fourth line minutes for the Canes but last night stepped up his ice time a little bit and was rewarded with a goal against the Caps. Along with Murphy is the long overdue (In the opinion of many Canes fans I’ve talked to) emergence of Ryan Murphy, who is another former first rounder. Let’s also not forget about the phenom talents Justin Faulk and Jeff Skinner who are both still just 21 years old and leading their team in points.
I mentioned in the King preview how the powerplay would be a big factor in this game. Well cue the stalwart penalty killers of the Hurricanes who just came off a game where they blanked the high octane Capitals powerplay five times.
Carolina Hurricanes Lineup (Subject to change)
Jiri Tlusty - Eric Staal - Alex Semin
Nathan Gerbe - Jordan Staal - Patrick Dwyer
Jeff Skinner - Elias Lindholm - Radek Dvorak
Kevin Westgarth - Brett Sutter - Drayson Bowman
Andrej Sekera - Justin Faulk
Brett Bellemore - Ron Hainsey
Jay Harrison- Mike Komisarek
Cam Ward
Anton Khudobin
Scratches: Tuomo Ruutu (IR), Tim Gleason (IR), Ryan Murphy, Riley Nash
Players to watch: Elias Lindholm, Jeff Skinner, Cam Ward, Justin Faulk
Follow me on twitter for updates on the game and other news and notes.
Scoring Summary
FIRST PERIOD
None
SECOND PERIOD
None
THIRD PERIOD
LAK Goal - SH - 13:26 - Dwight King, Assists: None
CAR Goal - PP - 14:06 - Jeff Skinner, Assists: Nathan Gerbe, Andrej Sekera
SHOOTOUT
CAR Jeff Skinner - Save
LAK Anze Kopitar - Save
CAR Alex Semin - Save
LAK Jeff Carter - You know what happened
CAR Nathan Gerbe - Save
FINAL SCORE: Kings win 2-1 (SO)
My Three Stars:
1. Cam Ward CAR
2. Dwight King LAK
3. Jonathan Quick LAK
Post-game analysis
What a hard fought battle that was. Both goalies and defenses came to work tonight, and what resulted was a battle of both neutral zone positioning and possession. Overall the game had an entertaining pace but lacked a lot of true grade-A scoring opportunities.
Dwight King was arguably the best King forward on ice all night. He had a jump in his step all night and was justly rewarded with his first goal of the season shorthanded. A defensive mishandling sprung King on a breakaway. He must be taking lessons from Kopitar on breakaway moves because he finished it like the Kings' No. 1 center. Shortly thereafter though the Canes took advantage of a tough up high shot which Quick couldn't corral and Skinner tucked home the rebound.
Overall the Kings looked worlds better at supporting the breakout and making sure the play was clear of their own zone before moving up ice. Quick had a decent night overall but really was fighting the puck early on in the game. He came up big when he needed to be though and skates away with his third W of the season.
I dub the forehand-backhand-up high move "The Carter" now. Silky smooth, perfectly done, seemingly every time. Carter continues to be a force for the Kings. If he isn't scoring in regulation, he's decisive in the shootouts.
There isn't a whole lot to analyze here. The Kings seem to be steadily improving in terms of the little things. Crisp outlets and good puck support were there tonight, and once the offensive zone time and cycle game can get refined it should be all systems go. On to Florida for the rare afternoon game against the Panthers on Sunday.
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