Vancouver avoids season sweep by hapless Kings
Staples Center is one of the greatest venues in the world. When filled to capacity, it crackles with electricity and passion. During basketball season, it has drawn fans from all over the world to come peek at greatness on the court.
But tonight, as the Kings face off against the Canucks, it has become a cavernous building. And, has been the case all season, there seems to be more Canuck jerseys than one would be accustomed to. During the singing of both national anthems, more people participated in the Canadian version. Being a Monday, I shouldn't be surprised.
The Kings get a power play early, when Alex Edler is called for tripping. When the Kings only get one shot off, the Canucks kill off the penalty pretty easily. They immediately get a power play when Cloutier gets two for goaltending tripping. Handzus winds up serving the penalty.
Ryan Shannon gets whistled for high-sticking, and when Handzus leaves the box, the Kings have a power play for close to two minutes. But there doesn't seem to be very much urgency in the Kings tonight, as Vancouver kills it off pretty easily.
For the most part, Cloutier's time off has been good, as he makes some solid saves, keeping Vancouver off the board. he also helps keep things in check. After Matt Pettinger comes barreling into him, Tom Preissing comes to his defense, and gives the player a little shove. Priessing is grabbed from behind by Kevin Bieksa. Cloots grabs Bieska by the scruff of his neck and yanks him backward, to try and clear his crease. Pettinger gets the penalty for interference, as the Kings go on the attack.
Frolov had a beauty of a chance as time expired on the penalty, but shot it high. He had Luongo clearly beat.
The Kings could only manage 5 shots, as Vancouver dictates the tempo of the game. They have had 13 shots on goal,
First period: Kings 0, Canucks 0
In the second, Matt Ellis gets called for tripping, and the 'Nucks get busy in the offensive zone. A shot rings off the post, and Cloutier falls backward on it to save another Vancouver chance.
Kopitar gets tattooed by two Canucks, and his helmet pops off and scitters down the ice. To his credit, Anze stayed on his skates and didn't fall down. But he looked a little dazed as he skated off. Some retribution will be doled out later.
Brad Isbister shoots the puck, and it goes under Cloutier, who falls on it. But Isbister's inertia pushs the two of them into the goal. The play is reviewed, and there is no goal. The non-call gets the fans fired up, as play starts again.
Frolov had another beautiful shot, as he's alone in front of the crease with no one between him and Luongo. However, he whiffs on the shot, much to the chagrin of the crowd.
The Kings played with a little more enthusiasm in the second, but still allowed 13 shots. The Kings were abyssmal in the faceoff circle, winning 36 percent of the time. Looks like we're down to 20 minutes.
Second period: Kings 0, Canucks 0
With a win tonight, the Kings will have swept the Canucks for the first time since 1981. Every season, there seems to be that one team that the Kings have their number to.
Dustin Brown skates in with the puck, and has Patrick O'Sullivan on his wing. He passes over to O'Suuly, who shoots over Luongo for his 19th goal on the season. The crowd, anxious to cheer for something, ANYTHING, erupt as O'Sullivan points over to Brown. Kopitar gets an assist added later.
The Canucks start bringing it, as they take advantage of the Kings slipping into a defensive shell after O'Sully's goal. They have several chances at tying the game. But the Kings D continues to confound Naslund and Co.
But with less than three minutes to go, Ryan Kesler backhands the puck past Cloutier to tie the game. Alex Burrows and Mattias Ohlund get the assists. And the assembled throng of Vancouver fans start chanting "Clooooooooooooooutier." Rob Blake then gets called for interference, giving Vancouver a man-advantage with less than two minutes to go.
The score is tied as we head to OVERTIME!!! The Kings have six shots to Vancouver's 11. It's amazing that the Kings scored at all, let alone hold the lead for a while this game.
Third period: Kings 1, Canucks 1
Ohlund rings a puck off the crossbar, as the kings kill off the Blake penalty. But, Willie Mitchell fires a shot from the point, which is redirected in front by Ryan Kesler to score 46 seconds into overtime. Kesler finishes the game with 2 goals and the number one player of the game.
Overtime: Canucks 2, Kings 1
But tonight, as the Kings face off against the Canucks, it has become a cavernous building. And, has been the case all season, there seems to be more Canuck jerseys than one would be accustomed to. During the singing of both national anthems, more people participated in the Canadian version. Being a Monday, I shouldn't be surprised.
The Kings get a power play early, when Alex Edler is called for tripping. When the Kings only get one shot off, the Canucks kill off the penalty pretty easily. They immediately get a power play when Cloutier gets two for goaltending tripping. Handzus winds up serving the penalty.
Ryan Shannon gets whistled for high-sticking, and when Handzus leaves the box, the Kings have a power play for close to two minutes. But there doesn't seem to be very much urgency in the Kings tonight, as Vancouver kills it off pretty easily.
For the most part, Cloutier's time off has been good, as he makes some solid saves, keeping Vancouver off the board. he also helps keep things in check. After Matt Pettinger comes barreling into him, Tom Preissing comes to his defense, and gives the player a little shove. Priessing is grabbed from behind by Kevin Bieksa. Cloots grabs Bieska by the scruff of his neck and yanks him backward, to try and clear his crease. Pettinger gets the penalty for interference, as the Kings go on the attack.
Frolov had a beauty of a chance as time expired on the penalty, but shot it high. He had Luongo clearly beat.
The Kings could only manage 5 shots, as Vancouver dictates the tempo of the game. They have had 13 shots on goal,
First period: Kings 0, Canucks 0
In the second, Matt Ellis gets called for tripping, and the 'Nucks get busy in the offensive zone. A shot rings off the post, and Cloutier falls backward on it to save another Vancouver chance.
Kopitar gets tattooed by two Canucks, and his helmet pops off and scitters down the ice. To his credit, Anze stayed on his skates and didn't fall down. But he looked a little dazed as he skated off. Some retribution will be doled out later.
Brad Isbister shoots the puck, and it goes under Cloutier, who falls on it. But Isbister's inertia pushs the two of them into the goal. The play is reviewed, and there is no goal. The non-call gets the fans fired up, as play starts again.
Frolov had another beautiful shot, as he's alone in front of the crease with no one between him and Luongo. However, he whiffs on the shot, much to the chagrin of the crowd.
The Kings played with a little more enthusiasm in the second, but still allowed 13 shots. The Kings were abyssmal in the faceoff circle, winning 36 percent of the time. Looks like we're down to 20 minutes.
Second period: Kings 0, Canucks 0
With a win tonight, the Kings will have swept the Canucks for the first time since 1981. Every season, there seems to be that one team that the Kings have their number to.
Dustin Brown skates in with the puck, and has Patrick O'Sullivan on his wing. He passes over to O'Suuly, who shoots over Luongo for his 19th goal on the season. The crowd, anxious to cheer for something, ANYTHING, erupt as O'Sullivan points over to Brown. Kopitar gets an assist added later.
The Canucks start bringing it, as they take advantage of the Kings slipping into a defensive shell after O'Sully's goal. They have several chances at tying the game. But the Kings D continues to confound Naslund and Co.
But with less than three minutes to go, Ryan Kesler backhands the puck past Cloutier to tie the game. Alex Burrows and Mattias Ohlund get the assists. And the assembled throng of Vancouver fans start chanting "Clooooooooooooooutier." Rob Blake then gets called for interference, giving Vancouver a man-advantage with less than two minutes to go.
The score is tied as we head to OVERTIME!!! The Kings have six shots to Vancouver's 11. It's amazing that the Kings scored at all, let alone hold the lead for a while this game.
Third period: Kings 1, Canucks 1
Ohlund rings a puck off the crossbar, as the kings kill off the Blake penalty. But, Willie Mitchell fires a shot from the point, which is redirected in front by Ryan Kesler to score 46 seconds into overtime. Kesler finishes the game with 2 goals and the number one player of the game.
Overtime: Canucks 2, Kings 1
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