Game 54: Oilers 3, Kings 2 (shootout)

Sorry for the delay in the recaps, but I figured you all had enough of of me with the live Hockeywood Tonight segments every period. Tell me, did you like that? Or do you prefer these game recaps?

This game was an important one for the kids, as it's teaching them the valuable art of battling back during a playoff push. They could've easily folded their tens after the first period and played out the game uninspired, if it wasn't for the fight between Jack Johnson and Sam Gagner.

Hopefully, we have witnessed the true arrival of the Rabid Wolverine at the NHL level. When he played at Michigan, Johnson obtained a cult following, thanks to his willingness to drop the gloves as well as his offensive prowess. The chants of Kill, Jack, Kill were heard throughout the Yost Ice Arena during his time there. And if he has more games like he has the past few, those chants will grow at Staples.

In the end, the Kings drop an absolute heartbreaker, a game they should've won. Those two fights, and the resulting comeback really gave the game a feeling of a playoff contest. Helene Elliott asked captain Dustin Brown if it felt that way to him, and he downplayed it a bit.

"Obviously I've never been in one at this level. But it had that type of feeling, where it was very physical, very emotional and back and forth," said Brown, who is in his fifth season in the NHL, all with the Kings. "If we could maybe come out better in the first, we might win that game in regulation."

It's gonna take a complete effot every single game if the club hopes to make the playoffs this season. They aren't going to sneak up on anybody the rest if the way, and teams are looking to neutralize the top players, like Doughty and Kopitar. The rest of the roster is going to have to respond like they did on Saturday.

• AP:  Roloson leads Oilers to 3-2 win over Kings

The Kings have lost two straight following a 7-1 stretch. Rookie defenseman Drew Doughty scored a power-play goal for Los Angeles in the second period, and Dustin Brown tied it during another power play with 26 seconds left in the third period.

• LA Times:  Kings get the point a little late

If they had won, the Western Conference playoff scramble might look different too. Every point is precious, but wins are critical because wins are the first tiebreaker if teams are even in games played and points. The Kings remain four points out of the final playoff spot but have only 24 wins, second-fewest in the conference.

• Yahoo: Team report

There wasn’t any known bad blood between the Kings and Oilers before Saturday’s game, but it certainly showed up in the first period, when there was a combined 36 minutes of penalties. The Kings’ Jack Johnson and Edmonton’s Sam Gagner got in a fight and with just under five minutes remaining in the period, then, less than 90 seconds later, the teams’ heavyweights, Raitis Ivanans and Zach Stortini got in a fight. Things calmed down after the first period, though, as there were no fighting or roughing penalties for the rest of the game.

• LAKings.com: Notes from the press box

The two goals were the first two shootout goal that Jonathan Quick has allowed in his career, Entering the game 2-0 on the shootout, having stopped 5-of-5. Frolov now is 1-for-5 on the shootout this season, after entering the season, 7-of-14 for his career. O'Sullivan leads the team with three goals on seven attempts. Overall, the Kings have converted on 7-of-26 and stopped 11-of-23 in posting a 3-6 mark on the shootout.

They said it

“I think it’s just the nature of the playoff chase. We’re fighting for a spot and they were going after some of our players and we went after some their players and that’s just the nature of the way the playoff chase is going to be. Especially when they’re a couple of points ahead of us and these are games that are going to be emotional games.”—Kings captain Dustin Brown, on the first-period penalty minutes.

Looking through purple-hued goggles

• The Royal Half: High five!

• Purple Crushed Velvet: Kings 2, Oilers 3 (SO)

• Frozen Royalty: Kings lose point against Oilers

• Inside Hockey: Carbon Copy Kings

From the other side of the ice, the Edmonton view

• Edmonton Sun: Gettin' the job done

Truth be told, Edmonton would have been fortunate to escape the Staples Centre with one point, so nobody was complaining all that loudly about letting L.A. steal a single from the proceedings on Dustin Brown's game tying goal with 26 seconds left in regulation.

• Edmonton Sun: Ol' Time Hockey

• Edmonton Sun: Oilers beat L.A. Kings 3-2 in shootout

• Edmonton Journal: Roli keeps on ticking

• Lowetide: Oilers at Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are frightening now that they have goaltending. They are loaded:
    * Drew Doughty is 19.
    * Oscar Moller and Wayne Simmonds are 20.
    * Anze Kopitar is 21.
    * Jack Johnson is 22.
    * Jonathan Quick is 23.
    * Dustin Brown and Patrick O'Sullivan are 24.

Let's compare that group to the Oilers:
    * Sam Gagner is 19.
    * Andrew Cogliano is 21.
    * Ladislav Smid is 23.
    * Robert Nilsson and Kyle Brodziak are 24.

• The Cult of Hockey: Roloson's great play turns bashers into believers

Not only was that hit utterly spectacular, with me and my son laughing out loud with glee each of the seven times we watched in on replay, it was also payback for Dustin Brown's hard hit on Smid, and that's the kind of thing the Oilers must do if they're going to win.

Peeping the dailies




The Jack Johnson/Sam Gagner fight



The Raitis Ivanans/Zack Stortini fight