Kings play for 15 minutes, lose...
By Styx -
The Kings played hockey tonight like everyone knows they can. Problem is, they DIDN'T PLAY 60 MINUTES OF HOCKEY... DIDN'T PLAY 60 MINUTES OF HOCKEY... DIDN'T PLAY 60 MINUTES OF HOCKEY... RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT...
It's similar to accidentally hearing "Paul is Dead" over and over while listening to a Beatles album on a record player on the fritz. However, this broken record is not playing backwards, it's playing forwards, and becoming more and more frequent. As I've watched the Kings night in and night out for the past month or two, the number of minutes of true Kings hockey that they play in each game is getting fewer every night. The other night against Washington, they played about 20-25 minutes. Tonight, I wouldn't equate it to anything more than 15 minutes.
An obvious indication of this through the first 26 minutes of tonights game was the fact that the Kings had exactly 2 shots on goal, until Eric Belanger took the Kings 3rd shot 5:48 into the 2nd. But by this time, Edmonton was already up 3-1, and the Kings first goal (in fact both of Murray's blue-line goals) you could call a gift from Salo.
On the other end of the ice is poor Jamie Storr. I'll agree he is one of the most inconsistent goaltenders I've ever known, and tonights game, as well as Saturday's game, he let in some very soft goals. But I was absolutely DISGUSTED with the reaction of the crowd when he was pulled in tonights game. On one hand, here is a guy the fans can stand and cheer for, or chant "JA-MIE" when he makes an incredible save (which he does pretty often if you sit down and think about it - usually its easy ones he lets by). On the other hand, when he gets pulled while having a bad game, the fans give that a standing ovation? What good will this do? Would you do this to your friends? These fans are thinking, "If we stand up, clap, and boo him, he'll feel great and come back next game and really play well and then we can cheer for him again like he is our savior." Pick an opinion, people. Like him and quietly express your disappointment when he plays bad, or hate him and sit down and shut up when he plays well. Being a goaltender myself, this kind of behavior from fans that are supposed to support their teams through thick and thin sends chills down my spine.
So where was I? Oh yes, Steve Passmore comes into the game. Whereas last game this provided a noticeable boost to our beloved hockey club, tonight it seemed like it had no effect. Although the kings more than doubled their shot-on-goal production compared to the 2nd period, by the time Edmonton notched their 4th goal, the Kings still had only 7 shots on goal.
Then the spark! Kelly Buchberger went fist-to-head with Anson Carter in a wild fight down in the Kings end. Kelly had the best of it in the early-going, but then Carter's jersey magically came off his body, freeing him up and allowing him to get some nasty final shots in. Why Carter was not ejected from the game for not having a properly secured jersey is a mystery to me. No matter, the Kings began to play LA Kings hockey at this point. Hard checks, nagging hooks, face washes, fights, and OFFENSE all spewed forth for the remaining 3 minutes of the 2nd period, in which the Kings closed the gap on Bryan Smolinski's goal. As the 2nd period buzzer sounded, I knew if the Kings could carry that momentum over into the 3rd period, they might have a shot at actually winning the game.
Carry it over they did! Just 28 seconds into the 3rd, Glen Murray lets another rocket go from near the blue line and it zips past Salo, to cut the lead to 4-3. The fans, and seemingly the Kings, were re-energized. They generated 7 shots in the opening 9 minutes, but then another penalty by the Kings allowed a slumping Edmonton power play to get its third power play goal of the night at 10:26, which basically took the wind out of the Kings' sails. Although they kept firing rubber at Salo, they were back to playing the heartless, sloppy hockey that has been plaguing them over the last month.
Add a 6 on 4 empty netter to rub it in, and you've got another disappointing game on an even more disappointing homestand (2-5-1).
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