If any of you East coasters went to bed early instead of staying up to watch this one...well...good for you. I wish I had also.
First off, let me just shortly sum up most of it in various media platforms. A) Because it's so easy, and B) most of this game was hate infused goonage and a little bit of hockey
(If Wiese isn't suspended for this by the way I will be VERY surprised.)
This was a game filled with 40 minutes of chest pumping emotion that would have been great if it had a purpose other than gooning it up. A high intensity third period redeemed the quality of the game a little bit.
Still though, the game had over 100 penalty minutes in the first two periods, and didn't see the first (and only) goal until the third period. The Canucks made a point of sending a message to the Kings, particularly Dustin Brown, right off the bat. Clearly the Canucks were not happy about the collision between Brown and Luongo the last time the teams met.
Early in the first, the Kings were met with a rain of boo's from the home crowd as they failed to convert on an unorthodox seven minute powerplay thanks to Tom Sestito. Sestito may have had one of the best all-time stat lines I've ever seen thanks to his contribution to tonight's game.
This came after a hit by Jordan Nolan on Daniel Sedin that Sestito and the Canucks took exception to. The video above shows why Sestito was given 2, 5, 10 and a game, and why Nolan skated away unpenalized.
The powerplay of the Kings has become woeful as of late. With nearly 10 minutes of pure powerplay time in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Kings mustered just four shots.
Bear with me as I play armchair analyst here for a second. It's far too stagnant of a unit. There is no movement, there is no creativity, there is no bravado. It looks to me like a unit full of players looking to help the other guy make a difference. Problem is no one is stepping forward to be a difference maker. It's a passive unit, with no real quarterback at the moment. I long for a player with the confidence of a Patrick Kane who just seems to say, "I am going to be a difference maker." It's finally starting to sink in for many of us that the problem with the Kings powerplay is perhaps far more systematic than previously thought. This unit badly needs a leader with some confidence and a killer instinct.
I don't know if there is an email address that Jamie Kompon has with the Blackhawks website, but if I find it I will pass it along so we can all apologize to him.
The Kings powerplay went 0-for-7 on the night and failed to be a true difference maker.
The real difference maker though? Dustin Brown. Love him or hate him, he was in the middle of everything. EVERYTHING. He had a goal, fought, and was the target of numerous shots that drew penalties from the Canucks players. Simply put, this was exactly the kind of game Brown would be a difference maker in, and he was.
Other than a pretty well paced third period this was a forgettable game in hockey terms. The Kings had nearly 40% of their shots blocked at even strength tonight, and only hit the net with 20 of a total 46 attempted shots. Again it lends to my earlier presented theory of the Kings taking bad shots.
The Kings also made an interesting roster choice entering the game, as Sutter opted to sit Alec Martinez and reinsert Matt Greene into the lineup. Muzzin, who has struggled as of late, was left in the lineup. He did nothing to improve his fortunes during the game as he had several turnovers and looked like a player who is struggling with confidence right now.
In the end, the Kings found a way to win against a division rival in a scrappy fashion. Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the shutout and again looked solid since. The Kings are no doubt slumping but have received two big wins from their division rivals in the Canucks in the last five games. The two teams will not meet again until the 5th of April, so cool off everyone. This one was a blood boiler. Five fights, a slew foot, one goal, and some interesting discussion. Now just think about how frequently the Canucks could be a playoff match up with the new format. Yikes. Who needs a Kings/Ducks rivalry right? This one has some bad blood.
If you aren't on twitter, I do apologize, because there was definitely some gold out there from this one. Here are just a few quick samples.
Dustin Brown: American pic.twitter.com/EcD4LG1I3L
— PumperNicholl (@PumperNicholl) January 14, 2014And my personal favorite
Here's a live look in at the @LAKings and @VanCanucks game.... pic.twitter.com/bDdLIp2VNs
— Happy Gilmore (@_Happy_Gilmore) January 14, 2014Easy on the comments section ladies and gents.
Follow me on twitter for news and notes about the Kings and the NHL
++++I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR SPONSORS! If you, or anyone you know would be interested in sponsoring our blog here at HockeyBuzz then send me a PM!+++++