Game 11: Kings crack back on Kovalchuk, Devils
Game 11: Kings 3, Devils 1The Kings were finally at home after a long, five-game road trip that saw the team finish with three wins, two losses and one concussed defenseman.
What better way to readjust from a demanding travel schedule than a late start at home, which occured when the Kings started the evening with their Mattias Norstrom Appreciation NIght. The crowd at Staples and at home were treated to a short video tribute, followed by an introduction by Bob Miller of Matty's family and Matty himself.
The introduction of his teammates was interesting, which included Jamie Storr, Derek Armstrong, Nelson Emerson, Glen Murray, Mathieu Schnieder, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake, and Ian Laperriere. A little surprising was the monstrous response Lappy got from the crowd.
Not surprising was the smattering of boos Blake still received from the crowd. Perhaps that's why he followed Luc, so the booooooos could be mistaken as holdover Luuuuuuuuuuc's.
I'm pretty sure Blake was happy that there was another player who has taken his place as pariah in the Kingdom. Coming into Staples Saturday were the New Jersey Devils and the demonized Ilya Kovalchuk. It should be no surprise to anyone that he was widely jeered every time he touched the puck.
The Kings struck first, when Justin Williams popped the fifth goal of his season past future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the only redeeming player on New Jersey. Michal Handzus added a power play goal in the second, giving the Slovakian Steam Trains his second of the season. Jarret Stoll finished the scoring for the Kings, when he knocked in a backhand to make it 3-1.
After that, it was all Jonathan Quick, who turned away 20 shots in the third period to secure the Kings' league-leading eighth victory. It was a satisfying victory, their first at home against New Jersey since the 2006-07 season. Kovalchuk, the man who should have been a King, was held to two shots on goal with no goals. Good luck in Jersey, Kovalchuk. You've gone from The Final Piece to Franchise Killer with one poor decision.
Late in the game, the Devils take a penalty for too many men on the ice. Which is ironic, considering they only iced 15 players two weeks ago against the Penguins. Of all the penalties the Devils can take, too many men on the ice shouldn't be one of them.
• AP: Quick tops Brodeur in Kings’ 3-1 win over Devils
They said it
Late in the game, the Devils take a penalty for too many men on the ice. Which is ironic, considering they only iced 15 players two weeks ago against the Penguins. Of all the penalties the Devils can take, too many men on the ice shouldn't be one of them.
• AP: Quick tops Brodeur in Kings’ 3-1 win over DevilsThe Kings recorded their 800th regular-season victory as a franchise on Mattias Norstrom Night. The team’s former captain and defenseman was honored before the game for his 12 seasons with the organization. The game’s first goal was scored by Williams, who wears Norstrom’s old No. 14.• LA Times: Kings beat the Devils, and Ilya Kovalchuk, 3-1
The Kings continued to thrive despite playing their sixth straight game without defenseman Drew Doughty, who's still recovering from a concussion. General Manager Dean Lombardi said Doughty was "better" after skating Saturday following the team's morning skate, but the 20-year-old defenseman must undergo neurological tests before he can be cleared to play in the Kings' next game, Thursday at Staples Center.• LA Kings.com: Kings down Devils
"You just play the game," Stoll said. "It was kind of funny to see their reaction. That's great. I liked it. It was fine. Every time he had the puck, we did a good job of smothering him and making sure we had one or two, or sometimes even three, guys on him. He had nowhere to go. So it was a great team effort defensively."• NHL.com: Kings prevail 3-1 over Kovalchuk, Devils
If Ilya Kovalchuk wanted a welcome fit for a king from the fans at Staples Center on Saturday night, he probably should've made a different career decision during the offseason.• NJ.com: Offensive woes continue for Devils in 3-1 loss to Kings
There were quite a few nasty signs in the crowd directed at Kovalchuk and every time he stepped onto the ice he was booed loudly. Kovalchuk played left wing with Patrik Elias and Vasyunov.
They said it"I've played in a lot of places where I got booed. It's their choice to boo or not," Kovalchuk said. "The Kings are one of the teams that tried to sign me, and the [recruiting] trip here was more for my wife, because she'd never been in L.A., and she wanted to go see it. So we went. But there's no point in talking about it anymore because I'm proud to be with the New Jersey Devils." – Ilya Kovalchuk, on the response he recieved by Kings fans.
“It makes my job a lot easier. You look and see that they had 20 shots (in the third period) and it might look like I’m getting a lot of work, but a lot of them were from the perimeter and I was able to see a ton of them." – Jonathan Quick, on many of the Devils’ shots coming from the perimeter.
“We know we’ve got a good team. We’ve got a lot of positives. We’ve got a lot of character. We’ve got a lot of good things going, but you’ve got to win games too. All that is talk unless you win out there.” – Jarret Stoll, on having the most points in the NHL right now.
“It’s just a very aggressive attitude, to stay after us. I’m sure they were talking about us coming back (from the road trip) and that there was going to be fatigue in our game. And they were right. We needed Quick to be good, and he was." – Terry Murray, on Quick's play.
Posted by Matt at October 31, 2010 12:10 AM 
Categories: Game Recaps
Tags: Jarett Stoll Justin Williams Jonathan Quick Michal Handzus
Categories: Game Recaps
Tags: Jarett Stoll Justin Williams Jonathan Quick Michal Handzus
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