Dancing in the Reign: Dominant in Dallas; Kings 5-1 Winners

Fresh off of the Olympic break, the Kings put on a performance tonight at American Airlines Center that was quite reminiscent of their play two weeks ago. In front of what looked like about 2,000 fans, and on soft ice that looked to be of terrible quality, the Kings played outstanding hockey. Five different goal scorers, 10 players registered at least one point, and Jonathan Quick broke into the Kings record book with 31 saves. Winners of 11 of their last 13 games, the Kings picked up right where they left off. Even with having 5 Olympians scramble their way out of Vancouver to make tonight’s game, the Kings looked animated. There was absolutely no rust in their play. Solid puck movement, two power play goals, and genuine defensive zone play. The 16 days in between games didn’t slow down any momentum this team had. Here are some thoughts on tonight’s victory.

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– Alexander Frolov had a magnificent game with 1 goal and 2 assists. His puck control behind the net was the key to the first goal, protecting the puck on a wrap-around until he found Jarret Stoll open for a back-door tally.
– Frolov followed up with a goal of his own as he controlled a deflection from a Drew Doughty shot point-blank in front of Turco. Frolov patiently waited to find an opening and slipped the puck into an empty net.
– Later, Frolov made a smart play by throwing the puck to the front of the net as he saw Ryan Smyth set-up in front of Marty Turco; Which resulted in LA’s fourth goal.
– Drew Doughty recorded three assists, backing up the praise he was given by media during the Olympics.
– The Powerplay looked decent as the Kings recorded two goals when a man up. Given Anze Kopitar’s PP goal came in garbage time, still a good job of breaking the zone, setting up, and making smart decisions when moving the puck.
– Jonathan Quick had yet another solid game. His 31-save victory tonight makes him the all time leader in single season victories for a Los Angeles Kings goaltender. Quick was also able to record his first assist of the season on Brad Richardson‘s 2nd period goal.