Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
Cammalleri scores again, as L.A. defeats Vancouver
Playing the second of back-to-back games, the Kings are in Vancouver to play the Canucks, who have only won once at home this season. Thing is, the Kings have been horrid on the road. Tonight, they hope not to break a 38-year record of losing four straight road games.
The Canucks uniforms are just flat out U-G-L-Y, and they have no alibi. The blue and green are a nod to the old uniforms of the club. But those were ugly too. I liked the ones that had, with the black killer whale breaking through the ice. There's no such thing as a blue killer whale. That's just dumb.
In goal is Jason LaBarbera, who played well in relief of Aubin last night. He has a chance to really make a case for the starting job, if he plays well tonight. Aubin, coming off a groin injury, looked hampered last game, so Jason's shot is right now. Not that there's any pressure, but the Kings have been outscored 13-5 on the road.
Starting lineup has Derek Armstrong centering Dustin Brown and Michael Cammalleri. And Armstrong gets called for roughing with less than a minute gone in the first. Vancouver is currently fourth in the league on the power play. LaBarbera is tested early and often, and the Kings are able to kill the penalty. O'Sullivan looks comfortable wreaking havoc on the penalty kill.
Brown gets called for hooking, just as the DAM line gets on the ice. So the Kings PK is back out there, and Michal Handzus wins the faceoff and sends it into the Canucks zone.
It's something small, but doing something seemingly as small as winning a faceoff can really mess with the timing of the opposition. And Handzus is doing a stellar job this season winning his faceoffs. Not only that, but he's had three real good blocks so far in the game. Having a veteran like Handzus get down and take a puck to the midsection (or lower, as it appeared on the second block. He took it on the inside of his knee), it fires up the bench.
It's been all Canucks so far, but L.A. is playing very well defensively. Brown has a sweet no-look pass to Cammalleri, skating backward and dragging a Canuck defender into Luongo. Jaroslav Modry has an nice assist of LaBarbera, knocking away a Marcus Naslund shot.
But the Kings have been flirting with disaster all period, and Vancouver tallys a goal, when Matt Cooke hits a rebound off LaBarbera from Alex Burrows' shot to give Vancouver an early lead.
Jack Johnson brings a hard slapshot from the point, something we haven't seen. It's wicked fast, although a little high. The line of O'Sullivan, Frolov and Nagy gets a good shift in. That should be an interesting combo for the Kings. The Kings are showing more offensive pressure as the period goes on.
Raitis Ivanans hits one of the Sedin twins from behind, and Taylor Pyatt takes offense to that, and the two face off for a Gloves-Off Dance-Off. Ivanans is able to pop Pyatt's helmet off, but Pyatt holds his own. I would score that a draw.
Frolov gets in the way of a Canuck player, and gets called for interference. So far, the Canucks have had four power play chances, and the Kings have thwarted them all. LaBarbera has been solid in the first, turning away nine of ten shots from Vancouver. But this game has a good pace to it, with both teams showing speed in their opposing zone.
First period: Canucks 1, Kings 0
I mentioned it last game, it's been something every Kings fan has been waiting for: Jack Johnson scores his first NHL goal, with three minutes gone in the second. Kyle Calder skates the puck in, with Willsie and Johnson in a three-on-one. Calder makes a nice pass past a diving Aaron Miller to Johnson, and shoots it past Luongo. Miller was the last player to wear number 3 for the Kings, and he helps give Johnson, the current holder of the number, his first NHL goal.
Rick Rypian smacked Johnson accidentally with his stick, opening up a gash on Jack and giving the Kings a four-minute power play. Kopitar has the puck on the goalie's left side, and he catches Cammalleri in front, who whacks away at it right in front of the goalie, until the third shot popped over Luongo's shoulder, giving him eight goals and sole possession of the league lead. He has four goals in his last five games. Brown gets the other assist.
Another King player who was overdue to score a goal this season found the back of the net. Alexander Frolov finally scores his first of the 2007 season, when he deflects a faked shot by Lubomir Visnovsky past Luongo, to put the Kings up, 3-1. Nagy got the other assist, as he skated around up top, and fed Visnovsky with a picture perfect one-time pass, that Lubo made everyone bite on, who quickly passed it to Frolov.
The Kings then start playing very strong defense. Lubo kills a Sedin twin's (which one? Who cares?) chance for a shot, Modry keeps things movig, as he keeps clearing the puck, and Johnson is everywhere. It's also been a clean period for L.A., as they haven't committed any penalties after the first period, where they were whistled four times for penalties.
Second period: Kings 3, Canucks 1
The Sedin twins try to ram one past LaBarbera, but Jason is able to turn them away empty-handed. Frolov continues his strong forechecking, trying to keep the Canucks on their heels. Alex Burrows hits a second King in the face with his stick, this time the unlucky recipiant is Kopitar. However, there's no blood, so the Kings only get a two minute power play. But the Kings really don't set anything up, and we're back at even strength.
Frolov has a breakaway, and it appears he should get a free shot when he's hooked from behind. But it isn't called and play continues.
It seems the Kings are content to play defensively. They only register two shots to Vancouver's 13. The only real chance the 'Nucks get to closing the gap is a goal by Mattias Ohlund late in the third. When Luongo is pulled, Brown scores an empty-netter in this, his 200th game in a Kings uniform. The first one, he was pulled down and would normally have been given a penalty shot. But because it was an empty-netter, he was awarded the goal.
LaBarbera was solid in the crease for Los Angeles, turning away 27 out of 28 shots. He made key stops late in the game to ensure the victory for Los Angeles, who now take the lead in the franchise series between Vancouver, 87-86-32. The Kings and Canucks have played 205 times, the most times L.A. has played another franchise. Forget the Ducks, the real rivalry should be between these two clubs.
Final score: Kings , Canucks 2
