Tonight’s second split-squad contest between the Kings and Coyotes christened new ice at STAPLES Center. Another loss, just moments after getting wind of the break-down 350 miles away at Jobing.com Arena. Pour some salt in the wound, will you? I don’t know if I can hold back the overwhelming waves of negativity surrounding me as I try to provide some sort of blurb on this performance. I mean, it was awful. Not only were they slow, but allowed Phoenix more scoring opportunities than their own ON the first two man-advantages. I’m targeting the two sorry excuses for a powerplay in the 1st period. You could tell the roster Phoenix iced tonight came out with a vengeance from the start. They dominated in speed, battles for zone-constant pucks, and overall effort. The Kings played more than 40 minutes facing a one-goal deficit until the 5th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Brayden Schenn, netted the equalizer 7 minutes into the 3rd period. Good finishing from Schenn, but you can’t ignore Dustin Brown‘s last-ditch effort helper that was ultimately the primary source for the goal. Jonathan Quick was in net for the entire game, stopping 18 of 20 shots, and helplessly watched an empty-net goal with :52 remaining. The next preseason game, and the final one at STAPLES Center, is on Tuesday at 7:30 against the Anaheim Ducks.








