LA Kings (w) 3 Minnesota Wild (L) 2 (SO)
Is it just me or does it look like the line with Smyth, Williams and Stoll is just a hair away from being a decent second line option? The three of them seem to be clicking really well together and I think it is only a matter of another game or two together before they start burying a lot more chances. If the Kings can get that line going and the chemistry of Kopitar, Loktionov and Brown comes together they Kings can put up some big numbers this year and if what I have seen in goal is any indication they are gonna need it.
Jonathan Quick
I am sorry to say Kings fans but so far this year Quick's numbers are a mirage, the team has been playing well enough to win in front of him but he still has a tendency to give up too many soft goals. The good think for the Kings is now they don't let that effect the rest of the game like they used too. For confirmation just look at tonight's game.
The first goal was a joke, Quick has to hang on to the puck shot from the point or steer the rebound into the corner, he can't let the puck fall out in the crease like that when the only player near him is on the opposing team. I have given up goals like that and every one of them was my fault, I don't know what Quick was thinking but here is another example of his bad rebounds hurting the team.
As bad as the first goal was to let in the second one was worse. I don't care that Dustin Brown admitted to deflecting the puck in flight and took the blame for the goal, he is a good captain and tried to take heat off of his goalie that was not playing well. The deflection that happened on the puck happened over forty feet away on a shot that wasn't all that hard. Quick had plenty of time to adjust to the puck and he just flat missed it. Its not even the nature of the goals that he gave up that make them so bad its that they happened two minutes apart early in the game. The Kings players showed a lot to put their heads down and work hard to get the win. It wasn't all that long ago that Quick's early game performance would have sunken this team.
Niklas Backstrom
I don't know what to say about Backstrom's game, he wasn't great in the shoot out, but then again he never is. He did play well enough to keep his team in it after they decided to hold back a bit after taking the early lead. The two goals he allowed in regulation came on the power play.
The first one was a hard high shot from Stoll from in so close I don't think it was physically possible for him to stop it.
The second goal came on a rebound but I don't think he ever saw Kopitar who scored it. The puck went through Williams legs and Kopitar was right behind him to follow it up, I don't think he would have stopped it even if he knew Kopitar was there but I wouldn't have expected him too.
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