Kings aren’t expecting power-play repeat

The Kings had a huge total of 12 minutes, 36 seconds, of power-play time in Game 1. That doesn’t figure to happen again in Game 2. During the regular season, the Canucks averaged 12.8 penalty minutes per game, the sixth-highest total in the NHL, so they’re no strangers to the penalty box, but last night’s game was not a typical one. The Canucks had a five-minute boarding penalty and also had two penalties for sending the puck over the glass in the defensive zone. The Kings scored two power-play goals, but they will have to be strong at even strength in Game 2, as Drew Doughty acknowledged that the Kings are unlikely to have such a high power-play total again.

DOUGHTY: “It’s pretty doubtful. It would be nice to (have), obviously, but there’s not too many times that they’re going to shoot two pucks over the glass, with two 5-on-3s and one five-minute power play. We’re not expecting to get that many again, but last night the power plays and penalty kills won us the game, so we need to continue to do those kind of things.”

What about the other penalties, though? The Canucks were called for two charging penalties and one unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. From the start, the Canucks seemed motivated to bring a physical element to the game, and it didn’t seem to deter the Kings much, or draw them into retaliatory penalties. If that was the goal, the Canucks are likely to change tactics for Game 2.

DOUGHTY: “I think they were probably told to do that, especially with some of our key guys, make sure they are finishing their hits on us and making us kind of shy away from our game. I think a lot of our top players kind of thrive under that. The more they hit us, the more they’re on us, the better we’re going to play.”