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.
Blue Jackets strike first
The Kings are riding a three-game win streak, their second of the season. The last one happened over two months ago. The last game against the Blackhawks left the team with a little breath of fresh air. The Hawks really didn't have their A-game in goal, as Khabibulin and Lalime must have had a nice New Year's Eve.
The LAD line of Ladislav Nagy, Alexander Frolov and Derek Armstrong had a stellar game against Chicago, with ten points between them. Lost in the excitement of the Kings' first hat trick since 2006 by Nagy, Frolov scored his 100th goal as a King. Dustin Brown also added a goal and an assist on the night.
LaBarbera is getting the night off, as Aubin starts in goal, opposite Columbus' Norrena. LeClaire played last night against the Ducks, in a 2-1 loss.
Three minutes in, and both teams haven't tallied a shot, but Modry gets the gate for hooking. L.A. is easily able to kill the penalty.
Westcott gets two for holding (more like clotheslining) Nagy, as the NHL's fourth best PP takes to the ice. Brown, Kopitar and O'Sullivan are paired once again, with Visnovsky and Blake on the blueline. Calder replaces Armstrong between Frolov and Nagy. L.A. gets some solid chances, but come up empty. The beautiful thing is L.A. has the second most power play opportunities, right behind Carolina. And it's the DAM line of Brown, Kopitar and Cammalleri leading the team in PP points.
Fedorov scores to put the Blue Jackets up, on a one-timer from Lindstrom. The shot was right in the slot, as it slid under Aubin for Federov's seventh of the season.
The Kings go on the PP when Malhotra gets called for hooking. But there's nothing there for the Kings to capitalize on.
I'm a big No Doubt fan, but I'm a little tired of hearing that B-A-N-A-N-A-S song they start to play, with the drum crops and deep base line. For some reason, it just doesn't fit for hockey. I'm sure it's cool for the Lakers or at USC games. But, it just has a whole "You-Got-Served" feel that makes me want to skip it on my iTunes.
Nagy joins Brown and Kopitar as time expires, and they get some opportunities.
First period: Blue Jackets 1, Kings 0
