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.
Two goals in first four minutes sets pace for Calgary
The Kings are taking on the Flames tonight, who are winners of four straight. L.A. is hoping to halt Calgary's streak and start their own.
The Flames strike first, when Robyn Regehr scores past a confused-looking LaBarbera for his fourth of the season. The thing that makes this one sting is the fact that this was a battle of fourth lines. The Kings had Ivanans, Thornton and Guiliano out there, against Godard, Yelle and Conroy. Stuart was in position and as he held Regehr, and the puck appears to have gone off his stick and is redirected past LaBarbera.
The next goal comes under two minutes later, when Daymond Langkow receives a puck in front of LaBarbera in an unusual way. It comes from above. Owen Nolan pops it over the goaltender, a la Hit The Ice, in front of LaBarbera, where it gets knocked around, before Langkow tips it in.
The Kings do settle down, as they finally get the puck several times in the Flames zone. But they can't really sustain any real scoring threat. The Flames outshoot the Kings, 11-6, and are lacking in the faceoff circle. I imagine Crawford is giving them an earful in the locker room.
First period: Flames 2, Kings 0
