This one was pretty much over a few minutes after it started. The Kings got three goals in the first five minutes and they didn't stop there. I guess they learned their lesson after opening day. Couple of hat tricks between Frolov and Conroy, Cammy with a sniper like goal from the slot, and for the second straight game, Belanger was rewarded for his hard work with another goal. He's been the unsung hero for this team so far.
Garon looked solid again, starting in place of LaBarbera who left to attend to faily business.
I'm starting to get a pretty good feeling about this team. They're beating the teams they need to beat, minus the occasional Phoenix. And they don't seem to be doing because there's a sense of urgency. They're doing it just because they're flat out better. They don't outplay their opponents for 60 minutes, but nobody does. What they do is finish. In years past, they've generated plenty of opportunities, but unless Ziggy was at the end of it, the puck probably wasn't going in the net. They now have a line with three guys who can finish, and they have finishers on the other lines as well, not including the Giuliano, Cowan, Parros line, and two of those guys are playing because of injuries to Robitaille and Armstrong, who can both score. For one of the first times in recent memory, the defense is very solid. I really like the pairings, but the key is that they are all mobile. When Miller and Norstrom are your worst skaters along the blue line, you have a pretty mobile defense corps.
This is a Kings team that can play and skate with anyone, and it's the first time it's really been that way since the second half of the 2000-2001 season. Because of this, they may be able to get by with a fairly mediocre power play, though I would imagine that this unit will pick it up as they become more familiar with one another. As we get further into the season and the players adjust to the way the games are being called, special teams may take on a little less importance. And their PK, which has been very good so far, allows them to be a little more agressive at even strength.
We're only 18 games in, and there's a lot of season left, but so far, so good.
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3 comments:
Garon didn't have to play all that well tonight, but he's the #1 guy for the foreseeable future: LaBarbara is taking an "indefinite leave" from the team due to "family matters."
Yeah, just read that in the Times. Hope everything is OK. I think the Kings are capable hands while he's out.
I guess Fedorov's agent never heard of a no-trade clause. Gotta suck that he got shipped off to C-Bus for spare parts.
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