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The LA Kings implode in the second period as they bow out to the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Thursday.

With the Kings leading 2-0, Calgary was able to score four unanswered goals in the second period to take a lead they never relinquished.

In the loss, Tanner Pearson scored two goals and an assist, including a goal late in the third to give the Kings a chance to tie it up, but it never came to be.

The weird part about this game was that this was one of the best starts to a game the Kings have had all season. The Kings outshot the Flames 13-3 up until halfway through the period and they were going into the second period up two nothing with goals from Derek Forbort and Pearson.

Playing a full 60 minutes has been a theme of this year’s Kings and for most of it, they usually get off to a slow start. However, given the Kings strength in the third combine with the strong start in this game, you could think that they might run away with this one.

Unfortunately, the Flames had something to say about that as they used their skill and speed that is present throughout their lineup to pin down the Kings in their own end and not let them get any offense going.

“The first 10 minutes were probably one of the best starts of the year,” said John Stevens after the game. “Then we just let their defense start skating, let them start to freewheel in the rush game, and then I thought we totally got out worked for the next 30 minutes.”

“The first 40 [minutes], we were really, really good for 10, and then the next 30 we were really, really bad.”

So now we’re back to the whole playing for 60 minutes again. You can’t relax against any team in the NHL.

The one thing that is noticeable is that this game was somewhat reminiscent of the game against the Vegas Golden Knights after the Christmas break. The Kings had no answer for the Knights who had three offensively focused lines that continued to pressure.

In both games the Kings were outshot by a wide margin and despite the fact that the Kings are one of the best defensive teams in the league, the Knights and the Flames had their way with them once they got going.

This could be a game plan against the Kings for future rivals.

This is also a game you can’t fault Jonathan Quick for. While there may have been one goal I thought he should have had, the superstar goalie stopped 37 of 41 shots to keep the game close.

“I think we take it for granted sometimes and that’s why we don’t play the way we should,” said Anze Kopitar about his goalie. “[Quick] bails us out the majority of the time and it kind of gets unnoticed and we have to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“Our second period was god awful and we left [Quick] hanging. I don’t think there was a whole lot of puck battles that we won and you can’t expect to play like that and not give up any goals.”

The Kings will look to rebound on Saturday night when they return home and face the defending Western Conference Champion Nashville Predators. The Predators have continued their strong play dating back to last year’s playoffs and are trying to chase down the St. Louis Blue and Winnipeg Jets for top spot in the Central Division. However, they have lost three of their last four games heading into Los Angeles so both teams will be in a bad mood as they face off on Saturday night.

After that game, the Kings will get their CBA mandatory five day break and will not play again until the following Saturday in the Freeway Faceoff against the Anaheim Ducks.

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