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 down by two
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.
