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Kings stalling at the starting line |
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One step forward, two steps back.
The Los Angeles Kings ended their four game losing streak on Saturday when they defeated the Florida Panthers 4-0.
That win was a bounce back performance as the Kings controlled play for the majority of play with their forecheck and heavy game deep in the offensive zone. However, it was not without its mistakes as if it weren’t for Darcy Kuemper in the first period, Florida would have taken control of the game quickly.
Kuemper got the start due to the back-to-back situation the Kings had this weekend and historically he plays well at the Staples Center. He had to play well because in the first period Kuemper and the Kings were peppered with shots, with the Panthers outshooting them 14-5.
“You know, the guys were doing a great job early,” said Kuemper after the win. “We weren’t getting a lot of offensive zone time but I was able to see all the pucks and we were competing in the defensive zone.”
After the first, the Kings woke up and dictated the play by limiting Florida to 10 shots for the rest of the game. Goals by Tyler Tofolli, Andy Andreoff, Trevor Lewis, and a beauty from Jonny Brodzinski (first of his NHL career) gave Kuemper all the support he needed to get the shutout and the victory.
On Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights, however, the Kings were not as lucky.
In a game I’m sure Jonathan Quick would like a do-over, he let in three bad first period goals and stopped six shots before getting yanked in favor of Kuemper.
Now, Quick isn’t going to be on his game all the time but 99 times out of 100, Quick isn’t going to falter like that. This is likely an aberration that shouldn’t happen again.
“Those are pucks he’d love to have back,” head coach John Stevens said after Sunday’s game. “But it’s a team game and Jonny’s bailed us out many nights. That’s certainly not the start we wanted.”
True to form, the Kings rallied after going down 3-0, as they have throughout their entire four game losing streak. In the second period the Kings outshot the Golden Knights 20-10 and got a goal from Lewis with a nifty dangle to put the Kings on the board.
Then halfway through the third, Tanner Pearson took an Adrian Kempe pass in the slot and beat Golden Knights goalie Maxime Legacy to get within one goal. However, that’s as close as the Kings would get as Vegas’ Alex Tuch scored on an empty net to seal the 4-2 win for the Golden Knights.
The issues the Kings have had in both these games, and the four game losing streak before it is that they haven’t always been ready to play right from the start. Los Angeles has done a good job of coming back in those games to make it close, but it takes more energy to come from behind than to lead.
“I think we’ve done a good job of battling back when we have been down,” said Pearson. “The past couple of times we have been down and haven’t been able to get there so I think us staying in the game right from the drop of the puck is a key thing right now.”
L.A. now has two days off to work on some of their mistakes before the Winnipeg Jets visit the Staples Center on Wednesday. The Jets are 8-2 in their last 10 games and will be in Nashville to face the Predators on Monday before flying to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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