Well, the Kings are getting better as the homestand rolls along.
Zero points on Thursday, one point Saturday and (finally) two points tonight. The games are also getting longer – going from regulation vs. the Blues to needing overtime against the Ducks…and then (finally) downing the Flames via a shootout.
In a game that was set up perfectly for the triumphant return of Ryan Smyth – the missing King for the last 20-plus games, going head to head with the team he’s played more than any other club in the NHL (74 games vs. the Flames) – in the end, it just wasn’t meant to be. He finished the night with zero points and was a minus-one.
However, it was business as usual for Jonathan Quick and Jarret Stoll. You’d be hard pressed to think of a more ‘sure thing’ in the game of hockey right now. If it’s a shootout, Quick will win it (8-0) and Stoll will score in it (now seven for eight on the season, that’s a whopping 88% success rate).
On the other hand, the game winning goal probably came from the least likely source – Anze Kopitar. He entered the night only converting two of his eight chances in the shootout this season. Make it three of nine now.
But, back tot he goaltending. Tim Thomas (Boston) and Pekka Rinne (Nashville) have probably already secured two of the three Vezina Trophy nominations. Yet, isn’t time Quick started getting some national attention for that third slot?
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