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 chase Bulin Wall in first
LaBarbera is in goal for the first time in three games. Nagy, Kopitar and Brown get the start, with Johnson and Brown on defense. O'Sullivan is matched with Armstrong and Frolov. Calder is with Willsie and Handzus. Cammy is scratched.
The Hawks get on the board, when Martin LaPointe snaps a Rene Bourque pass bast LaBarbera. Jason is looking a little rattled early. Of course, it doesn't help matters that Chicago already has 8 shots on goal.
L.A. gets an early power play goal, when Chicago gets whistled for hooking. Then, Tom Preissing shoots a deflected Nagy shot past Khabibulin to even the score. Frolov gets an added assist later in the period.
LaBarbera is giving up some pretty big rebounds tonight, but fortunately for him, his defense is stepping up.
Ivanans gets called for hooking, putting the Hawks with the man-advantage. The Hawks have caught onto this, and try throwing in front, in hopes of getting a puck past LaBarbera. A quick tic-tac-toe pass from Kane and Byfuglien to Patrick Sharp puts the Hawks up temporarily.
But L.A. comes right back, when Nagy picks up a loose puck in the Chicago zone and rifles it past Khabibulin's stick side to tie the game. Then L.A. gets another power play when Richmond gets whsitled for tripping. And after a solid PP shift, O'Sullivan tucks one past the Bulin Wall for the Kings' first 3 goal outburst in the first period in a long time. Brown and Visnovsky with the assists.
Chicago's Petri Kontiola gets called for hooking Preissing, and L.A. goes back out there with a man-advantage. Nagy takes a pass from past a Hawks defenseman and rips one past a crumbling Bulin wall, to give L.A. a 4-2 lead. Preissing and Stuart are credited with the assists. Why is the Bulin Wall crumbling? Because he was just pulled in favor of Patrick Lalime.
Lalime quickly stops a Willsie backhand to stop the Kings onslaught for now. Kopitar is down on the ice, when Adam Burish hammers him. Kopitar's helmet goes skittering across the ice, but he pops right back up and skates off.
First period: Kings 4, Hawks 2
