Some notes from last night’s game…
– The Kings completed an undefeated four-game road trip with a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.
– The Kings went 4-0 on their week-long road trip, with wins at Detroit (2-1), Columbus (4-2), Dallas (3-2) and Nashville.
– The Kings won their 40th game of the season and have recorded back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time in franchise history. This is the eighth 40-win season in franchise history.
– The Kings have won five consecutive road games and have an 11-1-3 record in their last 15 road games.
– The Kings won the season series against Nashville, 3-1. In the three wins, the Kings outscored the Predators by a margin of 14-4. The other game was a 5-2 loss.
– The Kings went 0-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. The Kings are now 22-for-22 on the penalty kill in their last seven games and have killed 23 consecutive opponents’ power plays.
– The Predators outshot the Kings 32-18, including 13-6 in the first period. The Kings tied their season-low for shots on goal. They also had 18 shots on goal in a 3-2 victory at Anaheim on Feb. 23 and in a 1-0 victory over Phoenix at Staples Center on March 3.
– The Kings improved to 20-14-3 on the road, 31-10-2 when scoring the first goal and 23-0-1 when leading after the second period. The Kings have a 33-7-2 record when they score at least three goals and a 32-6-2 record when they allow two or fewer goals.
– Jonathan Bernier stopped 30 of 32 shots and improved his career record at Nashville to 3-0. Bernier has stopped a combined total of 93 of 96 shots in Nashville. Bernier has a personal record of 5-0-3 in his last eight starts and has allowed two or fewer goals in eight of his last 10 starts.
– Anze Kopitar had one goal and one assist as he set a new Kings franchise record by playing in his 325th consecutive game. Kopitar topped the record of Marcel Dionne, who played 324 consecutive games, from Jan. 7, 1978 until Jan. 9, 1982. Kopitar’s streak started on March 21, 2007. Kopitar recorded his 20th multi-point game of the season and has eight goals and nine assists in his last 11 games. Kopitar tied a career-high with his 47th assist of the season. He also had 47 assists last season. The Kings have an 18-3 record this season in games in which Kopitar scores at least one goal. Kopitar totaled two goals and four assists in four games against Nashville this season.
– Dustin Brown had an empty-net goal and one assist, for his 15th multi-point game of the season. Brown ranks third on the Kings with 47 points this season.
– Wayne Simmonds had a goal, his 13th goal of the season and his third game-winning goal of the season.
– Alec Martinez had a goal, his fifth of the season.
– Dustin Penner had one assist. Penner has recorded at least one point in six consecutive games and has two goals and four assists in seven games with the Kings.
– Ryan Smyth had one assist. Smyth recorded at least one point in each of the four games against Nashville this season, with totals of three goals and two assists.
– Alexei Ponikarovsky had one assist. Ponikarovsky has one goal and three assists in his last four games.
– Alexei Ponikarovsky recorded a team-high three shots on goal. Matt Greene was credited with a team-high four hits and Greene and Dustin Penner each were credited with a team-high two blocked shots.
– Drew Doughty played a team-high 23 minutes, 53 seconds. Anze Kopitar led all Kings forwards in ice time at 21:17.
– The Kings won 29 of 55 faceoffs (53 percent). Michal Handzus won 11 of 20 draws (55 percent).
Amazing stats, the whole lot!!
How sweet it is!
GKG
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How good has Alec Martinez been? Does he remind any of you of Steve Duchesne a bit?
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dMan Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 10:26 am
@Weasel, Alec Martinez has been a revelation this year and still IMO under the radar. The defensive depth on this team is pretty amazing; Johnson, Doughty, Scuderi, Mitchell, Greene, Martinez. You really have to feel for Drewiske and Harrold as backups.
Once again, this is a testament to Lombardi’s scouting and Murray’s teaching and system.
The addition of Penner has really brought Kopitar’s game up another notch. It’s so exciting to see how this team has grown in the past couple of years and to see how bright its future is.
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Kevco Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
@dMan, Parse, if he is healthy next year, just got moved down a slot.
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rick Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
@Kevco, Parse is going to replace Smyth, who I wouldn’t mind seeing in a different uniform next year.
Stuart Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 10:26 am
@Weasel, maybe the first time around, def not the second!
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mike Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 10:57 am
@Weasel, Martinez is a really good skater and will only get better with playing time. He does make mistakes but he’s young and still learning. Just give him some time and he’ll impress everyone in the league. He has that knack of know when to join the rush and has the ability to get pucks to the net.
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KC23 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
@mike, I agree about Martinez. Considering his age and experience he is way ahead of schedule on his development. He is 2nd to only DD in bringing the puck up and even better than DD in knowing when to pinch and when not to as well as gap control at the blue line.
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Hadley Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@Weasel, for what it is worth, Martinez is a plus 6 for the season — a good number for those who think the statistic has value. It puts him third among the defensemen — after Doughty (+ 18) and Mitchell (+ 11). Scuderi has dropped to a plus 4 while Greene is a plus 3. Johnson is minus 14 for the season.
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I love the fact that there is a little bit from everyone, yeah!!
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“The Kings have won five consecutive road games and have an 11-1-3 record in their last 15 road games.”
Makes me tingle..
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mash-ola Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
@rubo17, It’s kind of hard to fathom that this is the Kings’ first 4-game road win sweep. I mean, since 1967, they’ve never been able to win four straight on the road… Just goes to show how far the team has come, but at the same time, it also shows the growing pains this franchise has had to endure over the years. And don’t get me started about all those 1st round picks practically given away in the 70′s and 80′s for over-the-hill vets… Boston, Montreal got really fat off the the Kings in those lopsided trade days.
GO KINGS!
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All of the Kings players are turning it up!! Wow! By far the pickup of Dustin Penner is the best trade we got in a while. I kept on replaying the behind pass to Kopitar about three times. Penner- Kopitar-Williams found chemistry so quick. That is a really skilled line. As of late, the play of Lewis, Ponkarovsky and Martinez have really impressed me. An off day is a reward. Hopefully they all can take a bus from El Segundo to Staples tomorrow and treat it as a away game to keep the streak alive. Cant wait for the game tomorrow and watching them play in the purple and yellow jerseys! Like they said every game is a playoff game here on out. Everything is mental, in sports and life. Gooo KINGS!
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seems a good fellow Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
@pat, just an FYI for those who don’t follow as closely as some of us do but our boy Kopitar now leads all forwards in the BHOPAL in plus/minus. Only 3 behind Lydman for the league lead!
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seems a good fellow Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
@seems a good fellow, BHOPAL = league
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This is the only time they’ve had 2 seasons in a row with 40 wins? Great job Dean. I lacked the patience to see what was going on and wanted to splurge for that superstar the last three years, but we finally have balance and sustainable victory. Thanks for Penner.
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VanKingsFan Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 10:39 am
@Jonesy, This stat is meaningless. After the elimination of ties the Wins stat for teams/goalies has become entirely different. Not to take away from Quick’s accomplishments but his win stats are a product of the new rules.
To put it in perspective, for all the Toronto Maple Leafs storied history and hall of fame goalies; their record holder for most wins in a season, is Andrew Raycroft…
We need to close the old rule book and start a new one
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fsd1 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 11:16 am
@VanKingsFan, Dude, 2 40 win seasons in a row for the Kings, never has been done with the old or the new “book”. Dont Harsh my happiness! LOL
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KC23 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
@Jonesy, Any stat that revolves around wins is pretty much meaningless. Fun to say, but it doesn’t really mean anything all that special.
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Wanted to point something out that Happy Lappy alluded to yesterday about home/road advantage. A few years ago I started keeping track of the percentage of NHL games won at home and on the road.
Happy Lappy pointed out, I think, that 5 of the 6 games that had been completed at the time, last night, were won by the road team. Yesterday’s results yielded a 2-8 record for home teams. 8 of the 10 NHL games last night were won by the visiting team.
This is a tribute to the parity in the NHL. IMO, in the NBA and NFL, the home team has some kind of significant advantage. When I make my picks every Sunday morning during the NFL season, I take into consideration A LOT which team is playing at home. If I were to make picks in the NHL, however, home ice would mean nothing to me.
Here are the stats this year: 523 home wins, 492 road wins. That’s for every game that’s been played in the NHL this year. That’s a 51.5% home advantage, meaning 48.5% of NHL games are won by the road team. And I’ve been noticing lately that the road teams are winning A LOT. Last night was a perfect example.
Seems like teams are getting a little complacent at home, to a fault. You’ve noticed it with the Kings, too. Barry, over at hockeybuzz, was pointing out how Dallas and a few other teams better step it up in their next few games at home, because 7 of their final 9 games are on the road, or 6 of their last 8. Well, that might be an advantage.
Quite frankly, I’m a little nervous about the Kings upcoming 5-game homestand. I kind of like playing on the road, seems like the pressure to win is off, and on at home. That being said, I like the Kings chances to win no matter where they are playing right now.
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Capt Jam Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 11:18 am
@Scot,
The hardest game on the upcoming home stand should be against STL. The first home game back following a successful road trip is usually the one the home team loses its focus. I suppose it would be unreasonable to think about the keeping the boys in a hotel until the end of the season?
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sstephen17 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 11:46 am
@Scot, Interesting to note that hockey is the only sport where you get an advantage rule-wise (last change on face-offs).
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KC23 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
@sstephen17, Yeah, that should be a huge advantage one would think, but it doesn’t seem to translate into reality.
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had the KINGS even had just an average road trip, and only gotten 4 or even 5 points, they’d be in 8th place, and behind Dallas and possibly behind Nashville (if that woulda been one of the losses)… and they could kiss any chance at winning the division goodbye. What a hugely impressive and hugely important road trip! wow! lets keep it up.
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If I was DL, I would put the boys up in a Hotel just like being on the road until we lock up a playoff spot. If that works, than do the same during the playoffs.
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I don’t want to be picky, but I did have one huge problem with the game last night: They didn’t show Carrie Underwood enough. If any of the FSW guys are reading this, please do a split screen when the Kings play the Predators and Carrie Underwood is in the crowd. Have one side focus on the game and have the other side focus on what Carrie is doing during the game. Maybe they could have Heidi interview Carrie during one of the intermissions. That would be AWESOME.
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Octane Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@Katy Perry, UMMM, no thank you. Can’t we just live with out Stars. Why would I care what Carrie or any other Star would say. They are just people like you and me. They have a talent that we don’t have. But they still get dressed the same way we do. I want to watch hockey not lose half my screen to see someone that looks good and has a lot of talent. I could go on line for that or watch other shows E! enteranted for one.
Thanks for the idea thought but my vote is no no way no how not in my life time.
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KC23 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
@Katy Perry, If the Kings make a deep cup run you’ll see more stars than you ever wanted to.
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kingeleven Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
@Katy Perry, I would drink her bath water. Damn that girl is hot!
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I have a question… I’m an English major, so I’ve never been too good at math, but how can the Kings have outscored the Preds 14-4 if they lost one game 5-2?
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VanKingsFan Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 11:53 am
@FiG17, Read the whole sentence with those stats again
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FiG17 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 11:56 am
@VanKingsFan,
Got it. That’s part of being a college student, too… you never do all the reading you should. Thanks.
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Hey Rich,
If you could see if you could find stas about goals against bernier that are deflections, that would be great!
It seems that at least one a game is a weird bounce.
Thanks!
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Another solid raod game by this team. The confidence is just great to watch in their play. When 4 lines are rolling, playing with this kind of confidence, The Kings are really hard to beat.
I did want to mention something that rarely ever gets a mention unless it’s bad. The referees last night did a tremendous job. Whistles in their pockets, fair and even officiating, talked things out with skirmished before calling penalties. They called it like a playoff game. This crew did it right and it made for a very enjoyable game. The officiating crews never get much credit and I’ve definitely bashed them when they’ve sucked (Which is often this year), but last night’s crew did a great job. Thanks to them!
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KC23 Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
@Cynic, Good observation. If you don’t think about the refs they are doing their job.
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
@Cynic, Good points to both of you & @KC23. It was refreshing not to see the Zebras wanting equal influence with the players!
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I just wanted all to know about my important part in last night’s victory. I have had to DVR 5 or 6 games this year. The Kings have won EVERY game I have DVR’d. Last night, I had the opportunity to watch the game live, but decided to DVR it instead and watch it later. We all know the result….Thank you’s will be accepted.
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kevin Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
@rick, thank you I follow some crazy odd traditions too
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I like so many other Kings fans was mad at DL earlier for not trading early for another forward. My hats off to him now for the Penner tade. It is looking like a great trade and really benifiting the first line. Go Kings. In watching the games since Penner got here the other teams expressions look like. ” Wholey Mackeral, this team is huge”. Thank you DL for the trade.
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Katy Perry Reply:
March 16th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
@gene,
“Wholey Mackeral.” The spelling on this site is funnier than the actual comments.
More Carrie Underwood, less Predators.
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