Over the past maybe two-three years the Kings have established themselves as one of the most difficult teams to play against with a lead, and in the final period of play.
It's a team that is so committed to defense and so detailed in their own end, it's a task for opposing teams to wrestle third period leads away. Until lately.
In case you haven't noticed, the Kings have had a pretty nasty trend as of late of getting scored on in the third. Jon Rosen, the LA Kings Insider, touched on it nicely with this quote here.
In their last 13 games, the Kings have allowed game-tying goals in the third period six times. Of the seven games in which they did not surrender a third period lead, they were unable to hold on to a two-goal lead against Toronto, allowed two quick Pittsburgh strikes that erased a two-goal second period lead, and failed to capitalize on a second period lead in San Jose.
Let's take those numbers a bit further over the 13 game span. Dating back 13 games, to the Toronto Maple Leafs loss, the Kings have been outscored 13-9 in the third period. They have allowed two or more third period goals in five of those 13 games. While 13 goals over 13 games doesn't seem like a lot, keep in mind that the Kings have allowed only 59 third period goals in 79 games. If you axe this last 13 game run from the statistics, the Kings allowed an extremely low 46 third period goals in 66 games. That factors out to an average of 0.69 goals in third periods. As you can see over the last 13 games the Kings have averaged a goal against in every third period they've played. A solid 1.00. For the sake of reference, if that trend were a season long one it would put the Kings at around the bottom 6-10 in the league for goals against in the third period. Also keep this in mind when thinking about the nine goals they did score, three of them came in one game against Phoenix.
Now obviously we are at a point of the season where these games matter very little for the Kings. They are secure in a playoff spot, and are also secure in their position in the standings. It's going to be either San Jose or Anaheim as a first round opponent, and it's simply out of their hands on who finishes where. Maybe it has been getting a little hard to get up for third periods when you really have nothing to play for. The players have noticed though.
Justin Williams had this to say after the Vancouver loss on Saturday night,
"We've had a tendency this last week to give up leads in the third period, and that's very uncharacteristic of us."
Then there was also the Jonathan Quick stick obliteration after the Vancouver go ahead goal...so I don't necessarily think it's an unnoticeable or welcomed trend by the players.
Honestly, it's just one of those difficulties that is attributed to the Kings' regular season essentially being over before the games are actually over. It's concerning in the short term, but in the long term there are much bigger factors at play that could be driving down the quality of play the Kings have encountered in the third period. Many of the teams they have faced have things to play for while the Kings do not. It's obviously no excuse, but at this point in time it's understandable. One thing for certain, this trend can't continue into the playoffs.
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Just a few prospect and minor league updates are in order I'd say.
The Manchester Monarchs currently hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference of the AHL and have clinched a playoff position. They have yet to clinch their division or conference though as the St. John's Ice Caps are nipping at their heels with a few games in hand.
Both Linden Vey and Andrew Campbell were recalled to the Kings, and the latter made his debut Saturday against Vancouver.
Campbell, 26, has spent the better part of 6 seasons with the Monarchs and is currently serving as the team captain. He's a big stay at home defenseman, and the strides he has made in terms of development from day one to now has kept him in very good standing with the organization. If it weren't for the Kings stacked defensive d-men corps, Campbell would likely already have this milestone under his belt.
The Ontario Reign have clinched both a playoff spot and their division in the ECHL. They also continue to lead the ECHL in attendance, so good on you Ontario Reign fans who have supported the team. They are averaging over 8,000 people a game which is fantastic for a second tier Hockey team, in Southern California no less (not a hockey market right?)
After stellar collegiate careers, all three of Kevin Gravel, Nic Dowd (Both St. Cloud State) and Michael Mersch (Wisconsin) have been signed with the Manchester Monarchs. Dowd received a one-year ELC, Mersch a three-year,
Gravel (5th round, 2010) is arguably the best King defensive prospect in the system currently, and plays a mean shutdown game that the Kings are currently lacking outside of big Andrew Campbell.
Andy Tonge over at Mayor's Manor did a solid interview with Gravel about the current state of things and his future. Check it out.
Dowd (7th round, 2009) has had a masterful career with St. Cloud State, and the two-way centermen has finished up in style by being nominated for the Hobey Baker award. Dowd tied for 30th in all of NCAA in scoring this season with 40 points in 38 games.
Mersch (4th round, 2011) has become a notable power forward for Wisconsin and was something of a powerplay specialist this year. He was tied for 5th in the entire NCAA with 10 of his 22 goals coming on the Badgers powerplay.
Valentin Zykov and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar are currently in the 2nd round of the QMJHL playoffs after sweeping out Shawnigan. As of today they are 2-0 up on Rouyn-Noranda.
Alex Roach has also reemerged to the pro level from the CHL after being reassigned to Calgary in the WHL at the start of the year by the Kings. The defenseman will join Ontario of the ECHL for their playoff run.
Keep an eye on Nikolai Prokhorkin (4th round, 2012) as well, who after having an amazing season in the KHL could potentially make their 2014 World Championship squad.
If there are any other prospects you want to know about feel free to ask in the comment section!
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