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.
Kings drop heartbreaker after Luc's ceremony
There was actually a game played Saturday night, after the hour-long retirement ceremony of Luc Robitaille.
Michael Cammallari fed Alexander Frolov early in the first to give the Kings an early lead. It was Frolov's 24th of the season, and brought all the butts out of the seats. Adding to his team-high 47 points, Frolov has settled on the line with Cammy and Armstrong, and that line has been very productive.
Anze Kopitar had one hell of a goal, when he scored short-handed to make it 2-0. Kopitar checked Travis Roche just as he was trying to get rid of the puck, and took it into the length of the ice, deking Mikael Tellqvist out of his skates for his 13th of his season. It was a tremendous goal that received a tremendous ovation from the sold-out Staples Center crowd.
A late goal by Josh Gratton brought the Coyotes to one. It was Gratton's first goal of the season.
First period: Kings 2, Coyotes 1
The Kings and Coyotes went back and forth to start the second. However, Lubomir Visnovsky was injured midway through the period, and hobbled over to the bench. The fans all held their collective breath, as he has been solid on the blueline. However, several shifts later, he returned to the ice.
During each stoppage of play, they showed a highlight from Luc's career. And there has been a lot of stoppage. Two times, the crew had to come out and fix the glass. Assorted scuffles and commercial breaks really dragged the game on. Considering the actual game didn't start until 8:30, The fans, all 18,346 of them, seemed to be in good form.
Second period: Kings 2, Coyotes 1
Whether it be the late start or each period found the Kings slower and slower, the Coyotes scored twice in the third period to put a downer on the evening's festivities.
SEan Burke had to be replaced by Yakuta Fukufuji midway through the period, due to dehydration. And the Coyotes feasted on the rookie's inexperience in the net at the NHL level.
Ladislav Nagy struck first when he snapped in a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to tie the game. Then Travis Roche got the game-winner from right above the right circle, when his shot ricocheted off defenseman Mattias Norstrom's skate with under two minutes to play.
Third period: Coyotes 3, Kings 2
