Dancing in the Reign: Habs Defense in Control: Kings lose 4-2
If there was anything to stand out in tonight’s game, it was Montreal’s defense. Talk about shut-down. The Canadians had total control of the neutral zone, completely taking away the middle of the ice and covering the passing lanes…almost perfectly. You could say the same with Montreal’s defense in their own zone; quite impressive. The Kings two goals came directly in front of the net, the only loophole Los Angeles could find tonight. Let’s not take away what the Kings provided defensively, as this game had very few scoring opportunities on both ends. Coming out prepared has been an issue stressed by coach Terry Murray a few times this season, and the Kings faltered on that front tonight; allowing goals within the first minute in periods one and three. As for special teams, the power-play was very quiet. The Kings had trouble possessing the puck in Montreal’s zone, which was the factor in their failures in the man-up situations tonight, going 0 for 4. Below are my key notes to the game:
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On Montreal’s Defense: As I stated before, the key factor in tonight’s game was their ability to clog up the middle of the ice, especially in the neutral zone. They forced the Kings to keep the puck on the outside along the boards and in the corner, giving them few chances to create solid opportunities in the crease; in front of the net. Note on the turnover for Montreal’s 4th goal, a neutral-zone interception on a cross-ice pass off the stick of Drew Doughty.
On what I liked from the Kings tonight: By beating Montreal’s Glen Metropolit to score LA’s first goal with his much improved speed and strength, Anze Kopitar continues to show his growth into an elite player in the NHL; much of which was due to his off-season conditioning. Great play by Michal Handzus to keep the puck inside the offensive zone on Fredrik Modin‘s third period goal. Handzus had a stellar game, and his effort to leave his feet and use his glove to knock down a Montreal clearing attempt was the reason Modin was able to walk in point-blank on Jaroslav Halak to record his first goal as a King. Jarret Stoll came to play tonight, winning over 90% of his face-off attempts and continuously attacking in the offensive zone, even drawing a hooking penalty on Jaroslav Spacek with his consistent foot movement through traffic.
On the Kings mistakes tonight: Early in the third period, Jeff Halpern threw the puck on net as he entered Montreal territory. Halak easily handled the shot, there was no loose puck. Yet, Matt Greene and Randy Jones felt the need to join the scrum that ensued in the crease. Stupid, and Terry Murray should be livid. This turns what could be a face-off inside Montreal’s zone into a face-off outside the blue-line. IN THE THIRD PERIOD. OF A TWO GOAL GAME. GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES. Greene, you’re smarter than that. Not sure about you, Jones. A rare mistake was made by Drew Doughty tonight, and it was huge. With just over a minute to go, and goaltender Jonathan Quick on the bench, Doughty went for the cute tape-to-tape pass in the neutral zone. Easily picked off by Sergei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec gladly received the pass and put the nail in the coffin with an empty-netter. Doughty needs to be smarter with the puck in that situation; by throwing it down-low, or looking for an option that doesn’t involve a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone.
