Canucks 7, Kings 2
The Kings have now experienced the wide range of emotions that the playoffs bring.
The soaring feeling of winning in overtime from Game 2. The feeling of invincibility of completely dominating Game 3. And now the crushing feeling of being blown out in Game 5.
The Kings played their worst game of the Stanley Cup quarterfinals against Vancouver, and now face elimination Sunday when they skate into Staples Center for Game 6.
Could there be enough time for these young, carefree kids to mount a Hollywood-style comeback?
There wasn't much that went right for the Kings Friday night. They had fewer shots, won less faceoffs, and gave up the puck more, all the while taking more penalties.
Their problems were up and down the lineup.
They got away from their gritty game plan for the second game. Their defense was aggressive, but didn't get much more support from the rest of the squad.
The offense looked stagnant, and struggled playing with the man (and men) advantage, as well as playing 5-on-5.
Things were chippy right out of the gate. After play had been stopped early when Kevin Bieksa cross-checked Richard Clune in the first period, many people on the West Coast went to commercial.
But the people who were watching the Canadian feed were treated to seeing Bieksa shove Kings defenseman Drew Doughty from behind during the team's jawing at one another, causing his helmet to fly off his head.
It was a cowardly play by Bieksa, who should've gotten more than just the two minutes.
That put the top-ranked PP unit of Los Angeles on the ice. For eight seconds. That's when Ryan Smyth got called for "interference."
A questionable call? You could say that, but I'm not one to blame wins and losses on officiating.
The fact was it kept L.A.'s only effective offense off the ice.
Fans who...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
