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The Los Angeles Kings dropped their second straight game to open the season, falling 6-5 to the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout last night.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Jordan Spence were both called up for the game, while Tobias Bjornfot came out of the lineup, and Pheonix Copley got the start.
The game couldn't have started much worse for the Kings. Brent Burns got the Hurricanes on the board under five minutes in, beating Copley with a good wrist shot. Then with an opportunity to get the goal back on a power play only minutes later, Kevin Fiala committed a terrible turnover and Sebastian Aho went back on a shorthanded breakaway the other way, beating Copley five-hole. Then later in the frame, Jesperi Kotkaniemi came down the wing and somehow just put a weak shot right through Copley from a bad angle, putting Los Angeles down by three. Drew Doughty did get one back later in the period, but the Kings still went to intermission down 3-1.
Then only three minutes into the second frame, Carolina caught the Kings on a bad change, and Brendan Lemiuex was able to come down the wing and beat Copley with a nice shot to reinstate the three-goal lead. While Anze Kopitar did bury a power play goal shortly after, Teuvo Teravainen scored the Hurricanes’ second shorthanded goal of the game a little later in the frame, off a pass from Sebastian Aho. Trevor Moore got the Kings back to within two on yet another power play a few minutes later, but Los Angeles still exited the frame down 5-3.
Los Angeles did keep pressing in the third period though, limiting Carolina to just three shots in the frame. It took until the midway mark of the period, but Vladislav Gavrikov was able to capitalize on a broken play to get the Kings within one. Then with under just two minutes to go, the Kings were able to win a battle down low with a strong forecheck and Carl Grundstrom found Anze Kopitar all alone in front, who shovelled the puck into the open net to tie the game for the Kings.
After overtime didn’t solve anything, a lengthy shootout began. On two different occasions, the Kings were a save away from a win, but shooters for Carolina managed to extend it. Then finally in the ninth round, Jordan Martinook managed to beat Copley with a nice move to the backhand, winning it for the Kings.
Obviously, starting the season 0-for-2 isn’t a great spot, but there was a lot to like about the Kings’ performance. They outshot the Hurricanes by a 30-19 margin, and out-chanced them through a lot of the game as well. Especially against a team of the Hurricanes’ caliber, that’s not insignificant.
However, it was a bit of a reminder of games early on last season, where the Kings would outplay their opponent, but mistakes ended up costing them. There was Fiala’s turnover, the bad line change, and the 2-on-1 given up on the Teravainen goal. Shorthanded goals are a killer, let alone two in a single game.
Goaltending is a whole other area, and I assume one that will be discussed in a lot of game analysis articles this season. The third goal allowed on Copley needs to be stopped. Other goals, even if not bad necessarily, were stoppable. Even on the Teravainen goal, Copley did slide over to get to the shot with enough time, just missed the catch. It’s going to be hard to win games when you’re giving up five goals on 19 shots.
Some other notes though: Rob Blake noted that Viktor Arvidsson looks to need surgery on his back. Assuming he gets it, Arvidsson’s timeline to return is looking quite a ways off, and the Kings will have to make due without him. Luckily, at least Arthur Kaliyev has now served his suspension, which will add a boost to the top-nine.
That said, Carl Grundstrom also played well in an elevated role with the absences, and it’ll be interesting to see if he gets more of an opportunity if Arvidsson is out long-term. Grundstrom does have more skill than the typical fourth-line forward, and potentially has the offensive upside to have a positive impact in the top-nine.
So overall, the Kings put together a pretty good outing, and probably deserved a better fate. But costly mistakes were the difference, and as everyone knows, the Kings need better goaltending.
They’ll be back in action on Tuesday, when they face the Winnipeg Jets.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
- Kings assign Brandt Clarke to AHL and extend McLellan, Kaliyev suspended
- Kings announce season-opening roster
- Kings fall to Avalanche in season opener 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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