Waking up with the Kings: March 25

The foundation for the Los Angeles Kings’ complete performance in a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers Tuesday night was laid in Monday’s 3-1 win over New Jersey, a prelude to a puck-possessing, shot-generating demonstration in which top players continued to stand out and the visitors played with an urgency necessary to continue to gain traction in the race for one of the west’s final playoff berths. Tuesday’s game was a exhibition of the Kings’ tried and true style of play, and it came against an elite team that had an opportunity to assume the lead in the battle for the President’s Trophy. After allowing an early goal, Los Angeles played among its finer attacking periods of the season, dropping 17 shots on a defensively capable New York team and generating a collection of quality scoring opportunities in an entertaining, up-tempo 20 minutes that ended deadlocked and also saw the Rangers generate several high quality looks as well. If not for Dan Girardi, who broke up two two-on-one pass attempts and used his stick to tie up Marian Gaborik for a tap in off a rebound, and if not for several denials on Grade-A and Grade-B opportunities – including terrific chances by Trevor Lewis and Dustin Brown – the Kings could have opened up an earlier lead. Ultimately Los Angeles continued its first period play into the second period, generated its first lead 24:35 into the game, and by the time 25 minutes had passed, had amassed 26 shots on goal.

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Both the Kopitar line and the Carter line were highly effective, another example of the Kings’ top players emerging with strong performances during a highly important juncture. Dwight King, Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli combined for 15 of the Kings’ 62 shot attempts and combined to post a plus-25 Fenwick-close. In a precarious situation early in the third period as the Kings held a one goal lead, Carter scored an important insurance goal by keeping his stick on the ice and redirecting a Dwight King feed through the top of the crease for the game-winner, his 19th as a King. A player who tends to elevate his already lofty play during the spring months, Carter now has eight goals over his last 12 games. Anze Kopitar, who now has points in four straight games and seven points total over that span, continued his standout play with another multi-point performance and found Jake Muzzin creeping in from the left point as he circled behind the net before assisting on the defenseman’s pinpoint high-glove snipe to widen the lead to three goals.

Los Angeles Kings v New York Rangers

As expected, Andrej Sekera is settling in nicely with the club. He’s a good player with a versatile skill set playing amidst the raised stakes of a playoff push, so this is no surprise. He’s also rekindled a good chemistry with Robyn Regehr over the past two games, and in last night’s game – especially early on – the puck really seemed to be finding Regehr. The weathered veteran isn’t a player who’ll push play consistently towards the attacking end, but his rugged skill set has meshed well with Sekera’s over the last two days. As difficult as removing the steadily improving Brayden McNabb from the lineup must have been, there are only 18 spots available for skaters, and Darryl Sutter is favoring experience over a promising player who has developed well over a widened opportunity. The decision has served the Kings well over the last two games.

Los Angeles Kings v New York Rangers

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