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Kings v. Sharks: Game One Recap and Analysis

April 18, 2014, 1:55 AM ET [39 Comments]
Jason Lewis
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
First & Second Period:



Sharks manhandled the Kings defense. Blown coverages. Turnovers. You name it.

Third period:

Better. But still....

San Jose was up 5-0. Nothing takes the fight out of you like being up on an opponent 5-0. San Jose was already practically back in the locker room and on their way home for the evening when they realized the Kings had scored three and there was still a hockey game being played. There was a solid 4-5 minutes there from around 13 minutes to 7 minutes remaining where the game entered "What if..." territory. Too little too late. Too much too early from the opponents.

Jones entered for the third period instead of Quick and played admirably given the circumstances. He made a couple of strong saves early on to keep it from getting even more out of hand. You could see the frustration boil over from several King players including Kopitar and Doughty, whom were attempting to take over the game on their shifts. It was to no avail though as they crawled closer but couldn't get out of the early hole. All in all, there isn't a lot to talk about here in terms of game analysis. If you get down that much, that early, your odds of winning are .01%.



Just a few things to consider.

1.) A series is seven games. Chicago just lost a gut wrenching triple overtime. Minnesota gave up a 2-goal lead in the third, in the dying seconds, and lost in overtime. The Kings got run out of the building and thoroughly out played. They are all down by the same margin:

one game to zero.


2.) Quick will be in net. No question. Yea the first goal was entirely on him for not tracking the puck, but the rest was a massive collapse of defensive zone coverage and puck management. I wouldn't put money on Jones coming in to start game two.

then again...Sutter quotes...

On “a good game” for Jonathan Quick despite the goals against:
You’re the one who said it, not me. Was it a question? [Reoprter: How did you think he played?] I think I could’ve made the decision earlier.



3.) It isn't a series until someone loses on home ice. Speaks for itself. Remember when these two teams played last year and no one lost a home game? Exactly.


4.) That was arguably one of the worst games of the year for the Kings. Can it get worse? Not likely. This team is too good to not bounceback, and the defense is too good to play like that again. At least you'd hope right?

A few more personal thoughts to this.

- Mitchell and Regehr had probably the worst games I've seen of them in a long time. In the first period it seemed like every time the puck hit Mitchell's stick it just turned into a cinder block. Better luck next game vets.

- I am a fan of the energy Clifford brings, but either get him to stay disciplined or let's get Tanner Pearson in there. Pearson was energetic in his own way in the final stages of the season, and he can chip in offensively as well. Clifford had a few ill disciplined penalties. He and Nolan provide a big and physical game for what is going to be a big and physical series, but I'd like to see Pearson get his play...heck maybe even Vey.

- I thought the Kings played a pretty strong first half of the 1st period in all honesty. They didn't possess the puck as much as San Jose but they were getting speed through the neutral zone and completely blowing by San Jose defenders for chances. A couple of real good opportunities didn't get buried early in the first, and those may very well have changed this game.

- These are the Sharks. We knew they'd be good, and all the weapons were clicking. Keep an eye on how Quick and Mike Brown interact the rest of the series as well, as Brown got into a bit of a scuffle in front with Quick that had tempers running on high.

- Welcome to the Sutter Doghouse starring Dustin Brown and Mike Richards. The pair logged some pretty meager ice time. Richards played 12:22, but was floating around 9:45 in even strength time. Brown wasn't much better, as his game total was 14:39 but his even strength totals were just a hair over 11 minutes. Only Jordan Nolan, Kyle Clifford, and Trevor Lewis had less ice time, and even strength ice time. These two must be better. No question.


Chirp of the night goes to, of course, the LA Kings twitter team. This is just magical.




I'll leave you with that.

Sunday we dance again everyone.

Follow me on twitter for news and notes about the Kings and the NHL


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