Kopitar and Scuderi Photo: bridgetds
Game Photos | Box Score | Event Summary | Play-by-Play
PAUL’S TAKE
All it took was a single breakdown by the flashy Wings for Anze Kopitar to capitalize. On a night when the Kings looked flatfooted early and often, they held Detroit to only a single goal until the 3rd when Jeff Carter deftly tipped a puck past the Wings’ Howard with less than 10 minutes to play.
The Kings fore-check finally sunk its teeth into a slippery Detroit club and delivered the final blow with under 5 minutes to play when Kopitar received a pass from Dwight King as he slid backwards toward the Red’s net. Realizing it was only the goalie between himself and a goal, Kopitar deked left, slid the puck back against the grain and tucked it in past a sprawling and helpless Howard.
Overall it was another ugly win by the Kings and that’s the way they seem to like it, or at least don’t mind it. Their perseverance was a thing of beauty after watching an almost-robotic like Red Wing team flirt with chance after chance only to find themselves at the mercy of a more powerful, more patient and equally skilled Kings team.
The Cup Champs now find themselves in the midst of a 5 game winning streak that has propelled them into 5th place in the West.
Note: Kings earn the day off. No Practice Thursday.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Darryl Sutter
“King and Lewy are good on the walls. Quite honestly that’s the biggest problem we had tonight, the wingers weren’t very good on the walls, and we were just trying to find three sets of wingers that would give us that in the third. And got lucky right? Got lucky we had the right guys out there. Players weren’t lucky, I was lucky. It’s not always easy to win, and you don’t always play a perfect game. I don’t think there was much in our tank to be honest.” More here…
Drew Doughty
“The first period was bad. The second period was better. Then the third period we got even better again. So that’s one thing we’ve been struggling with is our starts. So we gotta make sure we’re well prepared for the games.” More here…
Jonathan Bernier
“We were playing on our heels a little bit, and after that I thought we started chipping pucks, getting those pucks deep. That’s our game. When we cycle the puck and we play down low, we’re a very successful team, and I think that’s what happened in the second.” More here…
POSTGAME READING
Associated Press
Los Angeles showed more spark later, but its oft-struggling power play had a particularly low moment in the second period after three consecutive Red Wings penalties. Given two full minutes of 5-on-3 play, the Kings barely threatened Howard and the Detroit defensemen, who got a loud ovation from the red-clad fans crowding the lower bowl.
Inside the Kings
The Kings played a stellar defensive game Wednesday night. They had no choice because the smooth-skating Detroit Red Wings had them pinned down in their own end of the ice for extended stretches and it looked like they were skating uphill whenever they controlled the puck.
Detroit Free Press
The Wings couldn’t have had a much stronger start: They practically owned the puck, batting it around L.A.’s zone with such efficiency.Bernier had seen 10 shots by the midway point of the first period. One of those beat him: Quincey’s shot – and it’s generous to call it a shot – went in off Bernier’s mask as Voynov tried to out-stick Jordin Tootoo for the puck.
The Detroit News
For two periods the Red Wings were the better team Wednesday. But it was a costly third period that did the Wings in again. Goals by forwards Carter (power play) and Kopitar rallied Los Angeles to a 2-1 victory over the Red Wings.
POSTGAME VIDEO
Kopitar’s assasin-like skill
Carter’s tip
Bernier solid
Sutter interview
Kopitar interview
Doughty interview
Bernier interview
Flatfooted, yes. I really had a feeling that we were going to be shut out. A fortunate 5 on 3, And a very very sick move by Kopitar….=2pts. I have to admit that other than Jonathan Bernier, we looked very incompetent/lethargic in the neutral zone/o-zone and I was feeling very pessimistic about our chances. It also shows that when we are off our game, that we still have a very good chance to win it. I really don’t see this team not repeating in the end.
yep, when you have an outstanding defense, including defensive forwards and great goal tending you can be tough to beat even on your sub-par nights.
We got ourselves quite a team to follow for several years to come it would appear.
Great headline Paul! One of Newman’s best movies too!
Thanks!
Mighty good stuff. I wish those new fans that now follow the Kings could realise just how amazing it is these days to have the coverage of the Kings we do. Paul, you become a big part of that information with this timely interview spots and practise videos. Thanks for all you do.
You’re welcome KC! Yes, the amount of info is pretty crazy now and was basically the inspiration behind KND. There’s really no reason every team shouldn’t have a site like this. There’s so much potential for new and exciting ways to engage with fans.
Got a tough one for you, but perhaps you’re just the man for the job … why didn’t Pearson play the last Monarchs game? Been following Pearson, Vey and Toffoli pretty closely this season, but can’t find any info on this. Also starting to get an interest in Kozun as he is finally turning his +/- game around. Kozun and Yellow Horn and playing exceptionally well together since Yellow Horn showed up from Ontario Caifornia’s team.
I did inquire but no word as of yet.
Here you go KC. http://kingsnewsdaily.com/the-monarchs-tanner-pearson-out-indefinitely/
this game was soo frustrating to watch..They did horrible in the 1st if it was for Bernier they would of been down 3-0 going to 2nd period then they didnt even do anything better with those back to back 5 on 3s…after that period could of been 5-0 going to 3rd…3rd we did alright lucky we got another 5 on 3 and they finally went back to bacis by just shooting the puck and glad Carts kept his record going on scoring goals!..But what a move by Kopi that was pure beauty!..But a win is a win..Got to be alot better against the Olympics Diver team Canucks..
I think the Kings are going to destroy the Canuckleheads. I’ll say 4-0.
Detroit got two timeouts. That was nice of the refs. (Refs missed a lot tonight)
At least we got the reg win. We better start playing 60 minutes though and fast! 1st period was the most frustrating period of hockey I’ve watched in a while!
Just saw the official play by play: http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20122013/PL020287.HTM
Says LA took the first timeout. I thought the guy behind the glass said Detroit took that first timeout. He was standing just a few feet away from Babcock. I wonder if the off ice official made a mistake and charged LA. Seems like a strange move by Sutter to give Detroit time to rest guys and plan strategy when he has the 5 on 3. Oh well, doesn;t matter
Yeah, I didn’t even catch that. Didn’t catch much tonight as I misinterpreted a text from the ex-wife as well and am now paying the price. But who cares? The King’s won.
Damn it, most of this game was frustrating. The Red Wings broke out at will, it seemed like every odd bounce off ended up going to a Red Wing stick, and it seemed like it was a “no big deal, not our night” effort. But again, playing badly the game was well within reach. Jonathan Bernier was awesome. Definite first star. What a luxury (knock wood). Kopitar’s goal just did not happen, it is not possible for mortal hockey players to do that.
I thought the same thing. I guess the commenter got it wrong. I’ve seen that timeout before though by the 3 side. Yeah even the 2nd was pretty brutal to watch. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, especially after that Voynov delay of game.
One of Voynov’s worst games since he was paired with Mitchell last year.
Brown looking like he was trying out for the special olympics team.
Cameo appearances in the offensive zone in the 1st period
All that………………………………… and they still won!!
KINGS have only played 3 games past regulation time in 19 games
Interesting breakdown for goals scored by period
Before the Feb 10 “turning point” game in detroit: (10 games)
1st period—KINGS-4 opp-10
2nd period–KINGS-11 opp-8
3rd period–KINGS-3 opp-9 (+ OT–no shootout goals)
Since then: 9 games
1st period–KINGS-6 opp-6 (includes the 3 goals scored by chi)
2nd period–KINGS-8 opp-6
3rd period–KINGS13 opp-2 (5 of these games were on the road) WOW!!!!
Holy stat Batman! That 3rd period ratio is insane. And for still having consistently poor starts, being tied in goals isn’t too bad.
I thought I was the only one who noticed this was Voynov’s worst game this year. Browns was one of the worst of his career. I can’t remember a game he looked so uncoordinated since his first couple of years in the league.
You’ll noticed this in one of the lakingsinsider threads where I gave out grades. I was not kind to either Brown or Voynov.
Not to be totally negative … Muzzin is starting to get into the flow of NHL speed very very well. This kid is a keeper it looks.
wows…all around…(!)
PAULY – way to go…yr summary is spot-on…:)
TRYTODETHRONEUS – stats galore…me like numbers…(!)…thanks for doing the computing…:)
i guess the redeeming factor after skimming over our woeful offensive production the first 10 games goes to show you that it was definitely our preseason…i think detroit is always a beacon on our radar because of the obvious respect that the kings have for their players, coaching and winning history…
the great news is that the team loves the road still and has looked better more often than worse while away from staples…and even better news – at least, the stats demonstrate the following point – the kings are learning to close games, even when they don’t play up to their potential…
i know this might seem hard for many to believe, but we are the defending stanley cup champions…and in most foreign neighborhoods and arenas, that still means something…so, there’s pressure on teams to play their best game against the kings…and some go through the same lessons we did when we were swimming upstream…
the team looks like that they have finally started to feel the adrenaline of the alcohol bath they marinated in last season, instead of feeling the hangover…and that means only one thing for the rest of the league – start drinking…heavily…(!)
I think Cliffy Put forth a strong and superb effort!
I was really impressed by some of the moves and looks he had last night.
Right on Mars, he has really improved in many facets of his game this season, but what impresses me the most is his skating and puck control. 100% better then last season.
The latest rage is the “Kopi Shake & Bake” cause he toasted Howard last night.