Veteran center Anze Kopitar shared his thoughts about the play of Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, who ended a 28-game scoring drought to start the season during a 3-2 victory Tuesday night over the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center.
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Drew Doughty said his 28-game goal-scoring drought didn’t worry him in the least.
He also admitted he lied.
Doughty’s first goal of the season came as a giant relief to the Kings’ defenseman. It also propelled the Kings to a 3-2 victory Tuesday night over the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center, a game that also featured a career-high 40 saves for goaltender Jonathan Bernier.
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No more jokes about not being able to spell drought without Doughty. Drew got his first goal of the season with a shot from the left faceoff circle through traffic 6:28 into the second period Tuesday night at Staples Center. The Kings built a 2-0 lead in the second period over the Phoenix Coyotes for the second consecutive night. Meanwhile, the Coyotes’ scoreless streak reached 234:05, a franchise record. The Coyotes haven’t scored since their victory last Tuesday over the Kings in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes’ previous mark of futility was 226:21, set from Feb. 25 to March 3, 1998.
Stop if you’ve read this before, but the Kings held the Phoenix Coyotes without a goal for another period Tuesday night. One night after blanking the Coyotes 4-0, the Kings shut them out again in the first period. Dustin Penner scored the only goal of the period for the Kings, smacking home a flawless centering pass from Justin Williams at the 14:38 mark to make it 1-0. The Coyotes came out buzzing around Jonathan Bernier’s net and recorded the game’s first five shots and seven of the first eight. But they came up scoreless. Phoenix last scored last Tuesday in a victory over the Kings.
The Kings and the Phoenix Coyotes met Tuesday for the second consecutive night and the third time in eight days, a quirk of the NHL lockout schedule. The Kings lost the first game last Tuesday in Arizona 5-2 and then blanked the Coyotes 4-0 on Monday at Staples Center.
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Here’s Kings coach Darryl Sutter putting his unique spin on things when asked about Tyler Toffoli’s first NHL goal in only his second game since his recall from Manchester (N.H.) of the American Hockey League: “I’m sure it is (a good feeling) for him. He scored his first goal. He basically had to just get it up and score. I put him out on the ice on the power play. He should come and thank me.”
Tyler Toffoli scored his first NHL goal in only his second game with the Kings and his name began trending on Twitter in his native Canada almost instantly. Kings fans celebrated the moment by giving the rookie forward a rousing standing ovation.
Continue reading “Final: Kings 4, Coyotes 0” »
Tyler Toffoli scored his first NHL goal in his second game with the Kings, a power-play strike midway through the second period Monday night at Staples Center. Toffoli’s goal, off a rebound from near the left goal post, gave the Kings a 2-0 lead. Toffoli, a 20-year-old forward, was the second rookie to score in the game for the Kings. Defenseman Jake Muzzin scored the Kings’ first goal, also on a power play, in the first period. Muzzin’s goal was his sixth in his 25th NHL game.
The evolution of defenseman Jake Muzzin continued in the first period of the Kings’ game Monday night against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center. Muzzin blasted a power-play goal past Coyotes goalie Mike Smith 6 minutes, 1 second into the game for his sixth goal of his rookie season. And to think, Muzzin would still be playing for the Manchester (N.H.) Monarchs of the American Hockey League if not for injuries to veterans Matt Greene (back) and Willie Mitchell (knee). Muzzin has proved to be a reliable puck-mover in his first 25 games in the NHL, including Monday.
The Kings and Phoenix met Monday night at Staples Center for the second time in less than a week, with the Coyotes winning last Tuesday in Glendale, Ariz. The teams play again Tuesday at Staples Center, completing a stretch in which the Kings faced only two opponents in five games.
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