Game 23: Red Wings 6, Kings 4

Despite the score, this game wasn't as lopsided as it seems. The Kings were very much into this game, leading early in the third. But then, bad things happened. The whole thing unraveled before coach Murray's eyes.

The difference in this game was the fact that the top line wasn't effective. The Brown/Calder/Stoll line was clicking, and Frolov tallied his team-leading 14th goal.

Other than that, not much else to report about this bummer of a game. Take special notice of the Detroit blog From Abel to Yzerman I linked to... I friggin' HATE the Red Wings AND their fans.


• AP:  Cleary’s late goal lifts Wings past Kings 6-4

Dustin Brown and Kyle Calder had a goal and an assist each and Trevor Lewis and Alexander Frolov also scored for Los Angeles. Jarret Stoll had two assists, and Jonathan Quick made 30 saves.  "We had the win with three, three-and-a-half minutes left . they got two goals at the end," Quick said. "It was disappointing."

• Yahoo: Team report

The Kings finally got some scoring but didn’t do anything with it. After a three-game stretch in which the Kings went 0-1-2 and totaled only five goals on 109 shots on goal, coach Terry Murray talked about the need to convert more opportunities. “It’s scoring,” Murray said. “When I looked at this team in the summer time, I thought we had three lines that could contribute and do a decent job of the offensive part of things. We’re just having a tough time finding the net right now.” The Kings flipped things on Saturday, as they scored four goals on only 26 shots, but it didn’t help.

They said it

“We just have to hang in there mentally. We’ve got a young group of guys, so we just have to keep pushing on.”—Kings coach Terry Murray.

Looking through purple-hued goggles

• A Queen Among Kings: Losing streak? Wings 6, Kings 4

I thought Patrick Kaleta was a total douchebag for trying to challenge Denis Gauthier and then not even throw down the gloves! What the eff was up with that?! Why would you challenge someone when your team is up four goals to nothing and then not even follow through with it?! Well Katela got what was coming to him because Gauts didn't even hesitate. He threw off his gloves and gave Kaleta a sock in the teeth and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I shouldn't be mean and say he deserved it, but he really did.

• Crushed Purple Velvet: Is it all downhill from here?

The Kings are in the midst of a four game losing streak and now the goaltending position is in the hot seat again. I'm not convinced Quick can pick up the pieces and be the Kings' best defender when LaBarbera is struggling, which recently has been too often. I've been waiting for the Kings to get past the 0.500 mark and prove to everyone that they are a winning team, but lately they haven't shown it and their record continues to get worse. Will the Kings finish the season hovering around 0.500, figure out how to be more consistent and be a winning team, or continue this downward spiral and finish in the bottom quarter of the league?

• Frozen Royalty: The wait is going to be painful

    One thing to keep in mind: Ersberg must be allowed to heal completely. A groin injury cannot be rushed, especially for a goalie, or he will just aggravate the injury and spend even more time out of the lineup.
    Even worse, Ersberg could take more than the estimated two weeks to recover and without competent goaltending from LaBarbera and with Quick not yet ready to play number-one-goaltender minutes in the NHL, the Kings could find themselves under siege by the rest of the NHL for a long time.

From the other side of the ice, the Detroit view

• Abel to Yzerman: Off night all around

Think about it.  Prior to October, the last meaningful hockey these guys played was Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final.  Pressure and stress like nothing most of them had ever experienced.
And we, because of who we are, expect them to “bring it” just like that on a Saturday night in December in the middle of a blizzard in Detroit against the Los Angeles Kings. 

• Red Wings Corner: Thoughts on Game 32 (Red Wings 6, Kings 4)

Detroit scored six goals in back-to-back games for the first time since doing so Dec. 28 and 31, 2006. The offense is compensating for the defense right now. It looks like it might be firewagon hockey all season long.

• Winging It In Detroit: Wings earn 6-4 win over Kings

Jiri Hudler would contribute to another Detroit goal just 2:09 later when he (1) assisted on Dan Cleary's game-winning goal and (2) screened LA goaltender Jonathan Quick's vision for Cleary's shot. The goalie made an impressive 35 saves in just his fifth NHL game , but couldn't stop Cleary's shot from along the left boards.

Peeping the dailies