Dancing in the Reign: Kings Collapse Late in Phoenix; Fall to Coyotes 2-1

In the first of two split-squad match-ups between the Kings and Coyotes, things went sour last-minute. Not too little too late for the Kings, but just enough for the Coyotes, who were able to tie the game with just 1:43 remaining in the 3rd period and clinch the victory with under two minutes to go in Overtime. Kyle Wellwood extended the game into overtime at the 18:17 mark of the 3rd period, and Shane Doan put an end to the night at the 3:54 mark in OT. Jonathan Bernier got the start in goal, and erased any doubts that stemmed from his performance last night in Colorado. Bernier recorded 18 saves on 18 shots through 40 minutes of play. In as a replacement was Jeff Zatkoff, who surrendered the two late goals to Phoenix, but didn’t look bad stopping 18 of 20 shots faced. The late breakdown simply shows signs of a young goaltender, whereas his overall performance showed solid signs of development. The only goal recorded in Glendale, Arizona for the Kings tonight came off of a Alexei Ponikarovsky wrist shot just 12 seconds into the second period. Not much else to analyze on this game, especially with Radio coverage as the only media source. Wait, I almost missed it. Preseason hockey + Kevin Westgarth means one thing. Yes, Westy dropped the gloves for the second consecutive night in his quest to land a 4th-line spot with the Kings. That’s fine for now, but the centerman from Ontario, Canada needs to start displaying other assets to his game in these final three preseason contests. Many players to dress in tonight’s game for the Kings will not do so for a while, if ever again. Cuts will be made to downsize the roster for the remaining full-squad preseason games.