Purcell, Moulson and Handzus start the third, and immediately get the puck in deep. I'm sure it helps Moulson and Purcell to be linemates down in Manchester. Moulson earns a shift with Armstrong and Frolov, and gets a solid chance again.

Osgood snaps an Ivanans shot out of mid-air with authority, halting another Kings effort. Brown tattooes Kronwall by the Detroit bench, but no one notices it. They were too busy watching Franzen force the puck past LaBarbera to put Detroit up by three.

Detroit puts up a red fence, right in the middle of Staples, forming a line of forechecking that baffles the Kings' top players. Just too much experience for the youngsters' limited bag of tricks.

Blake hooks and gets caught, putting LA down a man. The Kings kill the penalty, which will help their PK rating. But that and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee.

I have never seen Kopitar get angry on the ice, until I see his head whip around to glare down Datsyuk, who apparently angered the Slovenian.

Purcell gets a shot to play on the top line with Kopitar and O'Sullivan for a while, and he makes the most of it while they are out on a line change.

The Kings drop one to the best team in the league. Who saw that coming?

Third period: Red Wings 3, Kings 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kings are slow to start the second period, as Detroit starts setting up shop in the Kings' zone. But Detroit gets a little too pushy, as Downing gets called for tripping Thornton. But again, the Kings can't get anything started against the Wings' 8th-ranked penalty-kill.

It sees to me that Detroit is just playing uninspired to start the period off again. But Handzus doesn't help matters, by holding Holmstrom, putting the Wings on th power play. But L.A. does a decent job killing off that penalty, much to the delight of the Staples Center crowd wearing purple and black.

Thornton gets two for hooking, and Detroit is back on the PP. Although Detroit has been a well-oiled machine this season, they look sloppy tonight. The Kings defense is playing well, helping LaBarbera out, which is always nice. However, the Kings have stopped shooting. The teams are now tied in shots.

Detroit is doing really well forechecking. And a great example of this is when Samuelsson strips the puck away from Johnson and skates in, firing the puck past LaBarbera's glove side to put the Wings up by two.

Osgood has been playing well, but has hardly been tested in the second.

The line of Handzus, Moulson and Purcell do have some chemistry out there. LaBarbera has a great save, when a Detroit player skates past the defense, and Jason follows him across the crease, blocking the ice with his stick.

Blakes puts an exclamation point on the period for the Kings, but they still trail by two. Purcell and Moulson have another solid shift, hustling their asses off and getting some shots as time expires.

Posted by Matt Murray at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The drummers are back. Ugh.

The Wings are without Zetterberg, which bodes well for L.A. Purcell and Moulson are on the same line with Handzus. Purcell has a nifty wrap-around attempt that almost goes in. Moulson has registered two shots so far. That line has been clicking the first two shifts they have been out there.

It's been all Kings the first three minutes, outshooting the Wings 7-1. Detroit looks a little slow out of the gate, much to the chagrin of the Detroit fans in the audience.

Detroit scores first when Datsyuk finds Holmstrom at the top of the crease to pop in his 19th of the season. Datsyuk used a Kings defender like a pylon, skating past him with ease.

For some unknown reason, LaBarbera's stick slips out of his hand. That boy needs Stick-Um on his gloves.

Moulson gets introduced into the NHL by Kronwell, as he gets hammered by the boards. Now the Kings are having a harder time skating into the Wings' zone.

The Kings get their first power play of the game, when Rafalski gets called for interference. Detroit does a great job stalling the Kings before L.A. gets a few chances on net. But there's not enough sustained pressure to get any more chances.

Blake and Stuart are paired up, as Johnson is back with Preissing for a shift. Stuart pummels Downey, as Detroit Fan grumbles.

L.A. outshoots the Wings, but are down one.

First period: Red Wings 1, Kings 0

Posted by Matt Murray at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a three-game road trip, where the Kings finished 2-1 against the Western Conference's Canadian teams, we are back in Staples for a game against the best team in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings.

The fans are decidedly a more reddish hue tonight, as the front-running fans are out in force. However, this game is hardly going to be a wash. Both teams are playing well right now. Detroit is 6-3-1 in their last ten games; L.A. is 6-4-0.

This is also a matchup of high-powered offense in the West: Detroit is the top scoring team in the West, L.A. is the fourth best scoring offense. However, L.A. is still dead last in goals allowed, whereas Detroit is first.

L.A. is playing their best hockey of the season right now. This will be a good measuring stick of where the kids are at this season.

Posted by Matt Murray at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)