The ice at Staples Center last night looked awful. It also looked, metaphorically at least, tilted in favor of the Vancouver Canucks for most of the first two periods. Other an a poorly executed first-period 3-on-1, that ended with a bad-angle shot by Dustin Brown, did the Kings have any real threatening scoring opportunities? The Kings came out looking better to start the third period, but the Canucks were still more threatening overall. The point of all this? The Kings never quit. They could easily have been discouraged after being thoroughly outplayed early, and after struggling on the power play, but they kept skating and clearing pucks and hoping for the one moment that would change the game. It came when Dustin Brown went to the front of the net and knocked in a rebound 6:30 into the third period. From there, it was hang-on-tight mode, as the Kings were outshot 16-9 in the third period but held on.
Jonathan Quick never wavered. In a fantastic effort, Quick made 41 saves for his second career playoff shutout, and Quick has now allowed a total of four goals in three games in this series, including one goal that came late in a game that the Kings led by three goals. Before the series, pundits theorized that Quick would need to “steal’’ a couple games in order for the Kings to have a chance in this series. Well, he basically stole one last night. What was the key aspect of the Kings’ 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 3? I present three options at the link below, and you can vote for your choice…
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For those who enjoy the traditional game recap, it can be found by clicking here.
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