Waking up with the Kings: December 21

Shootout losses aren’t always the most difficult to digest – those one points add up over time – but any satisfaction the Kings could draw out of earning a point on the road against a team that had won nine in a row was muted with the understanding that a second point was clearly there for the taking on a breathtaking night of high-energy, high-pace, emotional and well-played hockey. On a night in which Los Angeles etched out one of its finest performances of the season (and combined with Columbus for the most scoring chances in any game this season), there were also outstanding displays of coverage and checking. The Kings’ airtight penalty kill, which is now 19-for-its-last-19, denied all backdoor looks on the Blue Jackets’ top-ranked power play. Tanner Pearson (perhaps Jake Muzzin, if my eyes deceived me) came up with a huge block on a quality Seth Jones attempt that followed a drop pass off a rush. Drew Doughty denied two low-slot centering feeds on the same shift. Even on Cam Atkinson’s second goal of the night, Derek Forbort had made a key block moments before. Ultimately, it was Curtis McElhinney who stole an extra point amidst a battle of goaltenders who provided standout efforts, if not the name recognition of, say, a Jonathan Quick or a Sergei Bobrovsky.

Speaking of Forbort, he played perhaps his most assertive game as a King, and with Brayden McNabb nearing a return, ably stated his case to remain up top with Doughty as part of a high-minutes pairing. He logged a career-high 24:00 of ice time and used his fluid skating and hard, accurate outlet passes to avoid the Blue Jackets’ forecheck and reduce the time he spent defending. With the Winnipeg game, it was as good of a performance as he had contributed in a game this season. Up front, the Nic Dowd line appeared to recorded the team’s best and most consistent opportunities, with McElhinney robbing both Dowd and Tanner Pearson with bang-bang plays up front. To remain with individual efforts, Jordan Nolan continued his stretch of standout role playing that appeared to begin with his two-goal game in Arizona. On the other hand, Anze Kopitar remained in his funk despite emerging in the black in his battle against Columbus’ top skaters, while Tyler Toffoli and Pearson weren’t able to cash in on the opportunities they helped generate.

The Blue Jackets have simply been finding different ways to win games, and that has been a staple of their 10-game winning streak. On Tuesday, that was relying on McElhinney, Cam Atkinson, who has been terrific this season, and getting some big shootout goals. At the other end of the rink, the Kings have hung in there on a difficult road trip and emerged with another strong performance nine games into the trip. That’s not a moral victory by any gauge, but rather an observation. With one win over their final two games, they’ll assure themselves of a .500 points percentage on the trip, which amounts to holding serve during a year they’ve been very good at home. Playing .500 hockey on the road will go a long way towards remaining in the playoff race, which was their intention at the outset of the season when Jonathan Quick went down. There’s no rest for the road-weary, as their next two games are against teams nipping at their heels in the standings in Nashville and Dallas. The compelling theatre witnessed at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday should continue into the final two games before the Christmas break.