Sadly the Kings' 8-game win streak came to a halt last night at the hands of the mighty Maple Leafs.
Actually, it was more like James Reimer single handedly frustrated, confounded, and stood on his head to get the Maple Leafs the win. Toronto continues to be an enigmatic team that beats the stat guys time and time again.
The Leafs in general are fascinating. They allow the most shots per game on average with near 36 a night, they have one of the worst penalty kills in the league, and are 26th in goals against. They have the second worst fenwick and corsi differential also if you are into that realm of hockey statistics. BUT, they get monstrous goaltending on a nightly basis and seem to get timely goals from different places.
Despite all this, it's March and they sit firmly entrenched in 3rd in the Eastern Conference and are likely destined for the playoffs. Last night was no different for the Leafs. Outshot 41 to 29, with an injured goaltender coming in after the first period, they scratched out a victory against the white hot Kings. It was supposed to be Bernier v. Quick, but it appeared Bernier suffered a lower-body injury sometime during the first and was relieved by backup James Reimer. Reimer went on to make 31 saves in two periods, several spectacular ones. What are you going to do with a hot goalie? The answer is: not much.
The Kings did their fair share of donating to the cause though, as Anze Kopitar missed at least three empty net opportunities and overall the team played a pretty sloppy game after the first period. I think I'll let Kopitar slide though since the center has been absolutely on fire. With the goal last night he brings his 10 game total to a staggering 13 points. He has point together an extreme run of good form here post Olympics, and hopefully that continues on.
Speaking of, did anyone see Dustin Brown in the third? Well if you did you have some good eyes because he was only out there for four shifts and about three minutes. The King captain played a grand total of 10:12 last night, and it was his lowest voluntary season total of the year. He played just over five minutes against the Sharks December 19th, but he was also given a match penalty in that game. Brown registered zero shots on the night.
When Darryl Sutter was asked whether his captain was hurt or not due to his lack of icetime he was more than forthcoming with the reason:
No, he got benched...their line was tired, so we didn’t play them much.
Sutter was never one to mince words that's for sure.
On the flip side Sutter was quite complimentary of Marian Gaborik, who had his first goal as a King and his first multipoint game.
He’s played really well for us.
Thank Darryl. Always to the point.
Seriously though, after a feeling out period that briefly happened in the first game, Gaborik has been quite strong. He hovers, that's for sure. He is constantly around the net, trying to get himself in scoring position. The Kings haven't really had a player like that since Luc Robitaille. You won't notice Gaborik until the puck is on his stick and he is in the perfect position. He is an easy player to overlook honestly, and I think defenses do the same. Last night he was in the perfect place to tuck home a second chance opportunity for the Kings. His presence has also been noticed on the powerplay, where his puck movement always seems to be crisp and with a purpose. I can't stress enough though how important it is that the Kings have added a player who thrives in the slot.
The Kings take a stupid amount of shots, we all know this. Having someone like Gaborik sniffing around in the crease and in the slot is going to pay dividends with the style this team plays. He isn't notable for his physical play and that's fine, you can see already in his four games as a King how shifty he can be in the offensive zone without that. Very interested to see how he does come playoff time for the Kings. I have been impressed thus far with the simplicity of his game, but the overall high percentage areas he gets himself into. You don't get to be a 40-goal scorer without that knack I suppose.
How is everyone else feeling about Gaborik?
Kings get a shot on Saturday against the reeling Ducks, who are 2-4-0 since the Olympic Break and have been outscored 20-10 in their last five games.
This could be a match up we see in the playoffs as well the way both teams are trending.
How are the readers feeling about the current potential playoff matchup? Would you rather play the Sharks or the Ducks at this point?
We all love to use the word "Unsustainable" with the Ducks, and until they start proving they can pull it together in the latter parts of seasons I'm going to say the Ducks 9 times out of 10, and every day and twice on Sunday. They have had some dominant performances against the Kings this year but this doesn't look like the same team we saw in the Stadium Series game right now. We'll see which one shows up on Saturday. Maybe I change my tune a bit. Who knows.
Keep a close eye on the NCAA tournament folks! The Kings have a ton of young players involved. St. Cloud State especially, where the Kings have Kevin Gravel, Nic Dowd, and Johnny Brodzinski gearing up for what they hope is a deep run in the playoffs. Go Huskies!
I think my tweet of the evening goes out to a Mr. James Mirtle of TSN1050 and the Globe and Mail.
Where are all of James Reimer's critics now?
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 14, 2014Look, I'm all for grandstanding for your respective player. There is a time and a place though and after that game...I don't know, it's too easy. Reimer was SPECTACULAR last night. Herein lies a problem with hockey analysis at times. It was WAY too easy to pick that time and place to try and prove a point. No one was going to argue the fantastic play of Reimer last night, so let it speak for itself. No need to call out the haters and critics, especially when it is during a game like this. It's the extreme. It would be like going to Alaska on an unseasonably warm winter day and saying to everyone "It's always like this."
Also, probably not a good idea to compare his numbers to that of players who have four, five, and six times as many career games...
Reimer's so called "bad" season = a .922 even strength save percentage. Tied with Luongo and Lehtonen. Ahead of Niemi/Howard/Fleury.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 14, 2014He's also not a full-time starter...so there's that.
Anyways, like I said, I'm all for the guy supporting Reimer...but to jump up on the soapbox and yell "I told you so!" during last night's game...alright alright we get it. Now be sure to jump up and yell and scream when he lets in 4 goals on 15 shots.
For the record I like Reimer, so don't get me wrong here.
Anyways, on to Saturday!
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